The Ports of Aden and Mukalla represent critical and irreplaceable infrastructure that are essential to commercial and humanitarian activities in Yemen, particularly in relation to the overall food supply chain.

With Yemen on the brink of widescale famine, the timing of the ports’ restorations is more critical than ever. Dutch experts from the Port of Rotterdam and Solid Port Solutions were deployed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) between 22 November – 4 December 2020 to conduct an initial assessment to determine the minimum requirements to improve productivity and effective management of the ports. The damage and capacity assessment report found that an investment package of US$ 49,590,000 (US$ 21,560,000 for Aden and US$ 28,030,000 for Mukalla) is needed to both maintain current operations and restore them to pre-war conditions.

The project's priorities are outlined below. 

• Priority 1 projects: Will help maintain current port operations. 
• Priority 2 projects: Will help improve cargo handling at both ports. 
• Priority 3 projects: Will help restore and/or improve safety and sustainability of Ports’ operations and assets.

A similar assessment by the same organizations was conducted in 2019 at the Ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Issa in Yemen’s north.