Massawa – Economy of a Rebound City 2011

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Massawa - Part 2 

Massawa is the next burgeoning tourist and industrial area in Eritrea. At a glance it is still under heavy construction but potentially the many manufacturing sites and businesses will recreate a newly major maritime city in the much-needed newly conflicted waters of the Horn of Africa.

Twice in history Eritrea was known for having the fastest growing GDP in Africa both in the 1940’s and between 1994-1997 (before the border dispute with Ethiopia). Alongside this is it’s recent climb to re-rebuild its small-scale economy.

In 2011 the excavation of mineral resources and extraction of its first gold deposits is now once again bringing Eritrea and it’s economic development potential back into the spotlight.

There are several potential opportunities to grow the economy in Massawa with these public-private investments.

A Free Trade Zone Authority has been established and its construction activities in the port of Massawa have already begun. Twelve companies including China, Italy, Israel, India, Djibouti, Sudan and Dubai have registered to use the free port. 

Massawa is home to (thanks to tons of seawater) a salt factory, which imports and exports salt locally. Fisheries are also a main export item to neighboring countries.

Amazing still is the Old Italian cement factory, which despite rumors is still functioning! Like most of the old Italian infrastructure (including the ever popular old Italian railway) this cement factory is withstanding at least seven decades of operations. In addition to this cement factory there is now a second factory being built called Ghedem cement. It is still under construction and is a joint venture between Eritrean and Chinese construction companies. 





Tourists mostly know Massawa for its long stretch of beaches. There is a 1,200 km Red Sea coastline. There are old beachfronts bungalows like Gurgusum Hotel and newly constructed beachfronts like Millennium Hotel.


PHOTO: A sandstorm and a grazing camel

 An ecological goldmine, if you do some exploring you can see just about everything from aquatic life, to bird watching, crustaceans, and of course camels.

Off the coast of Massawa are the Dahlak Archipelago islands. There are over 350 small islands.

The newly constructed Massawa International Airport saw the beginning of small charter flight arrivals early last year, but is still waiting to operate at a full functioning scale.