Somalia's hope of a new era

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent: "Continued lawlessness and the absence of a central government have deterred investment in Somalia. However, the recent opening of a Coca-Cola bottling factory in the capital Mogadishu, is the clearest sign yet of growing business confidence in the country.

Its 400 shareholders come from all clans and all parts of Somalia. It directly employs 130 people and suggests that thousands more will benefit indirectly, offering an alternative form of employment to being a gunman. It is peace and nation-building through private enterprise. But for all their money and power, the businessmen are not yet strong enough to ensure the re-opening of Mogadishu's port. For now, El Ma'an remains the only option.

Mogadishu has a modern port. It is a 15-minute drive from the new Coca-Cola factory, whereas the journey to El Ma'an takes more than an hour along an untarred road. Standing on the beach surveying the scene with me, the port's head of security told me he was in charge of 1,500 gunmen and dozens of technicals - trucks which have been modified to carry big anti-aircraft guns. "