And after the capital took away the luster from Port Sudan, dubbed the “flower of the coast” for decades, the ordeal of war has been a blessing for Port Sudan to rediscover the beautiful city overlooking the Red Sea coast. and rich in its unique tourist attractions. weather, having formed a safe destination for Sudanese and foreigners seeking refuge in its heat.
Wael Ali Mirghani, a hotel manager in Port Sudan, told Sky News Arabia Economy: “20 days ago our hotel was packed with guests and we had no vacant rooms. tourism and shopping haven’t had that”. many customers.”
Move the slack
The economic recovery has not stopped at hotels and apartments alone, but has expanded to displace stagnation in local markets, other entertainment venues and transportation. Everyone working in these business areas has confirmed achieving unprecedented sales in the post-war period.
Unofficial estimates indicate that as many as 100,000 people have arrived in Port Sudan since the outbreak of armed conflict in mid-April, some of whom are Sudanese who have taken it as refuge, while others are foreigners who have arrived there with the aim of evacuating them abroad through the seaports and the airport from where private flights to foreign countries continue.
Despite its strategic location and vast tourist attractions, Port Sudan was not a popular tourist destination for Sudanese back home, and it lived through dark decades besieging its inhabitants with various crises including drinking water and electricity. electricity, and the continued lack of health care and education. services, in a context of high poverty rates among its citizens who depend entirely for their livelihood on maritime operations and the unloading of ships in seaports.
High rents
According to a real estate broker who spoke to ‘Economy Sky News Arabia’, the new arrivals have revived the rental market with a significant increase in rent value, with the rent for the apartment rising from 300,000 pounds per month to one million. and 200,000 pounds, equivalent to about two thousand US dollars, which indicates that many people wanted to rent and could not get it even if they had money, so they were forced to take refuge in school buildings and mosques.
Wael Ali Mirghani, a hotel manager in Port Sudan, points out that most hotels have increased the value of guest accommodation slightly to meet exorbitant operating costs, but there have been exaggerated increases in apartments and houses, where there was a kind of panic at first, and over time a great stabilization occurred.
Port Sudan includes unique tourist attractions such as the two islands of Suakin and Sankab, which are rich in antiquities, seashells and coral reefs, in addition to a main beach on the Red Sea coast and a cornice that forms a natural fence for the city rich in commerce and entertainment stores, in addition to the seaside resort of Arquette to the south of the city, which is characterized by its cold and moderate climate throughout the year and its waterfall masterpieces.
According to Abdul Qadir Muhammad, a taxi driver in Port Sudan, who spoke to “Economy Sky News Arabia”, “arrivals in the city did not care much for the tourist aspect, so their movements were limited to markets and to the food shops, and some of them head for the main cornice, which attends the movement of registration of foreigners and the procedures for their evacuation to the outside”.
He says: “My work has improved considerably and my daily income has increased compared to the period before the outbreak of the war. Of course, she is not happy about this, and we hope the fighting will stop, security will prevail and people will go home. There is great solidarity from the people of Port Sudan with their guests, even the vehicle drivers, many of whom have chosen not to implement anything. .
The income doubles
Rashed Refaat, owner of a shopping complex in Port Sudan, told Sky News Arabia: “Over the past three weeks, my sales have increased at a high rate, up to 7 times more than before. There are great pressure on our stores There is an abundance of all goods because we received goods from outside through the port of Osif, but there is a major crisis of mineral water, which was coming to us from Khartoum , and the supply has stopped, while the local sewage treatment plant cannot meet the great need.”
He added, “Of course, we are not happy with the ordeal of the war that forced people out of their homes, and we hope that the security situation will calm down and they will return home, but in fact their presence has achieved great economic gains for the city of Port Sudan, which has come back to life after suffering a heavy blow due to the closure of ports and the roads leading to them for 40 days before. last year.”
Port Sudan has experienced great economic difficulties after the National Council of Beja closed the country’s main ports on the Red Sea coast due to political differences with the former transitional government led by Abdallah Hamdok, which has harmed the living conditions of the citizens, most of whom depend for their earnings on the labor of loading and unloading in the seaports. But the city has revived through the ordeal of the present war.
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