Assab Port Stagnates as Eritrea’s “Africa’s Singapore” Dream Fades

What changed

Assab Port, once described as a busy Red Sea gateway for Ethiopia, is now portrayed as stagnant, alongside Eritrea’s stalled ambition to build an “Africa’s Singapore.” The account also links that decline to allegations that the TPLF conspired with external adversaries over Ethiopia’s Red Sea coastline.

Why it matters

Assab’s story is about more than a port. The city once supported maritime transport, banks, transit businesses, industrial activity and an oil refinery. Its decline therefore represents the loss of an entire economic ecosystem, not simply quieter docks.

The political stakes are rising too. On October 24, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called Ethiopia’s pursuit of sea access existential. Three days later, Assab appears in the same argument as both a symbol of lost opportunity and a focus of claims about who helped keep Ethiopia away from the coast.

Those conspiracy allegations are not independently established here, and the account does not quantify the port’s losses in trade, jobs or investment. But the basic tension is clear: Ethiopia sees reliable sea access as essential, while Assab is presented as a nearby port whose earlier promise has not materialized.