Bosaso Airport

Bosaso Airport, also known as Bender Qassim International Airport, is an airport in Somalia. It sits at 11°16′32″N 49°9′0″E on the outer edge of the city of Bosaso, the commercial capital of the northeastern Puntland macro-region and adjacent to the Gulf of Aden. It is the third largest airport in the country after the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu and the Hargeisa International Airport in Hargeisa.HistoryConstruction of the Bender Qassim International Airport started in 2007. Funds for the project were initially supplied by United Arab Emirates-based financiers.In 2008, the Puntland government signed a multi-million US dollar deal with Dubai's Lootah Group, a regional industrial organization operating in the Middle East and Africa. According to the agreement, the first phase of the investment is worth Dhs 170m and would see a set of new companies established to operate, manage and build Bosaso's free trade zone and sea and airport facilities. The Bosaso Airport Company was also slated to develop the airport complex to meet international standards, including a new 3.4 km runway, main and auxiliary buildings, taxi and apron areas, and security perimeters.Following the 2008 Puntland presidential elections, airport renovations came to a standstill as greater focus was placed on activities in the regional capital of Garowe.