In Somalia, the construction boom in Mogadishu is taking off despite decades of conflict

The country in the Horn of Africa, where 70% of the population lives according to the UN in "multidimensional poverty" - an indicator that also takes into account education, health and living conditions - sank in the 1990s into a civil war that led to the collapse of the state.

Since 2006, the fragile authorities, gradually rebuilt, have been confronted by the al-Shabaab Islamist group, linked to al-Qaeda, with whom intense fighting continues. The war still rages today 60 km from Mogadishu, where the insurgents have recaptured more than 200 villages this year. Control of bridges, vital for supplying the city, is threatened.

But the capital, with its three million inhabitants, has been better protected in recent years. And while bullet holes and ruined buildings are visible here and there, visitors are more captivated by the walls under construction, beams, and other piles of sand omnipresent in the urban landscape.

On Makkah Almukarramah Avenue, the city's main commercial thoroughfare, workers are busy on a new building with large windows.

This is a new phenomenon, points out Habib Farah, a resident of Mogadishu, because for the first time in decades, the builders and the population of the capital "are not afraid that they will break" due to gunfire or explosions.

6.000 new buildings

The construction sector is largely unregulated in Somalia and reliable statistics are scarce. But in June, the mayor of Mogadishu, interviewed by the BBC, estimated that more than 6.000 buildings had been constructed in five years.

The Somali government sees this as proof that its security measures for the capital are working, through surveillance cameras, plainclothes police officers and a new system of checkpoints.

As night fell, AFP journalists witnessed security forces searching every car, tuk-tuk (motorized tricycle), and truck approaching the Jazeera checkpoint, 10 km from the city center. Vehicles that had been outside Mogadishu for more than 20 days—the time required to plant explosives, according to authorities—were denied entry.

The government claims that insurgent attacks in the capital fell by 86% between 2023 and mid-2025. However, this did not prevent a failed assassination attempt against the presidential convoy, mortar fire near the airport, and a significant al-Shabaab assault on a detention center in Mogadishu over the past six months.

The city is "very safe," asserts National Security Advisor Awes Hagi Yusuf. "Mogadishu residents have already invested in Mogadishu and they will secure their investment," he told AFP.

While international aid has collapsed, in Somalia as elsewhere, the large Somali diaspora continues to send funds that are vital to the economy. In 2023, their remittances, which exceeded one billion dollars, represented approximately 15% of GDP, according to the World Bank.

Diaspora money

"The diaspora brings capital and know-how, while local businesses develop thanks to bank financing," explains Mohamed Gheedi, CEO of Premier Bank, the first to introduce MasterCard in Somalia, to AFP.

Investment has generally been directed towards real estate, fintech, commerce and infrastructure in "a rapidly growing but "neglected" market, he continues.

As in many growing cities, this growth is accompanied by an increase in inequality. The gentrification of certain neighborhoods is becoming a problem for the poorest residents, who are financially excluded from it.

Discrimination also extends to security. While well-off officials and some foreigners living in privileged areas may enjoy increased security and a higher standard of living, "this is completely different from the daily experience of people in other parts of the city," notes Mahad Wasuge of the Somali Public Agenda think tank.

Real estate speculation and land pressure sometimes end in bloody confrontations: in August, several people were killed in southern Mogadishu after security forces were attacked by residents who were being forcibly evicted.

People are far removed "from schools, hospitals, and even the most basic government services," laments Mahad Wasuge.

"The government is trying to project the image of a Mogadishu that is getting back on its feet," he adds, "but who is paying the price?"