Bahrain is planning to build a BD754,000 ($2 million) teacher training college in the Somali capital Mogadishu as part of its project to help the country recover from decades of war, drought and famine.

Work is progressing on the project alongside another Bahraini initiative to build a hospital in Mogadishu, Royal Charity Organisation (RCO) secretary-general Dr Mustafa Al Sayed told our sister newspaper, Gulf Daily News.

'It had earlier been proposed to set up a nurses' training school for Somali nurses, but the country's Education Ministry requested we consider a teacher's college instead,' said Dr Al Sayed.

'The project is already on the drawing board and is expected to be finalised soon. Construction will begin soon and will be completed quickly because the facility is much needed in the country,' he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Al Sayed said work was progressing on the Bahrain Specialist Hospital in Mogadishu, for which the foundation stone was laid earlier this month.

'The situation is uncertain in that country and there are disturbances every day and exchange of fire takes place,' he said. 'However, that does not prevent us going ahead with the construction.'

Work started following a ceremony in Mogadishu held under the patronage of RCO chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and attended by Dr Al Sayed.

Somali Health Minister Dr Abdulaziz Shaikh Youssef, other ministers and MPs and Islamic Relief board chairman Dr Mohamed El Alfy were also there.

The $2 million hospital is set to be completed by the beginning of 2014 and has been described as the first development project in Somalia in the last 20 years.

Funds were raised through a BH4Somalia campaign spearheaded by the Information Affairs Authority. – TradeArabia News Service