Mogadishu , Somalia ( CNN ) -- Bashir Osman moves hurriedly along a white sandy beachfront , giving instructions to a driver operating a bulldozer . Near them , a large truck is ferrying away piles of rocks , clearing a sun-soaked beach lapped by the azure blue waters of the Indian Ocean . Work here is well underway as Osman presses ahead with his new multi-million dollar project : to build a luxury beach resort in Mogadishu , the capital of war-torn Somalia . `` I knew one day that Mogadishu will become peace and we 'll get stability , '' says Osman , who already owns two hotels in the city . `` That is why I started to buy that land . '' After more than 20 years of violence , Somalia moved a step closer to stability last September after picking its first president elected on home soil in decades . And now , hope is gradually returning to parts of the East African country . Read this : Peace concert rocks Mogadishu . Although security is still an issue , Mogadishu has been experiencing an economic renaissance in recent months , boosted by members of the diaspora returning home to rebuild the country , as well as the efforts of local businessmen who never left . Osman , who stayed in Somalia throughout its conflict , hopes his new development will attract holidaymakers from abroad . He says that he 's already had American and British visitors staying in his hotels . `` More than 20 tourists they came , '' he says . `` Some of them they came with their family to show Somalia , especially Mogadishu , '' adds Osman . `` And really when they went back , they were so excited when they saw how Mogadishu looks like , how beautiful city we have , how beautiful beach we have and that is what we want to show them again and again . '' Osman 's ambitious new projects are part of a growing building activity that is reshaping many of the neighborhoods of bullet-ridden Mogadishu . `` If you go to Mogadishu the construction is very , very booming , '' says Osman . `` That is the sign of peace , '' he adds . `` Especially the people who came back from America and Europe , they start to open the new businesses . '' Mogadishu 's growing economy is manifested not just in real estate and the hotel sector . Telecommunications is also on the rise , while the aviation industry is spreading its wings too , with about 15 daily domestic and international flights . `` We have six different routes and basically next we 'll be eight , '' says Osman Abdullahi , a young Somali entrepreneur who set up the ODAY express airline . `` There is a lot of airlines that are planning to ( come to ) this country and hoping to ( have ) a hub over here . '' Abdullahi admits that leaving the United States in 2010 to return home and start his business was a `` 100 % huge risk . '' He says that when moved back back to Somalia , it was too dangerous to even drive in Mogadishu . `` That picture is already gone . It 's a different picture today , '' he says . This new picture can also be witnessed at Mogadishu 's seaport -- Somalia 's key national asset -- where creaking cranes lift goods from the commercial ships and boats lining the harbor . The wide array of imported construction materials , household goods and food are then loaded onto rows of waiting trucks . Read this : Somali women defy danger to write history . The customs revenue collected from here has increased exponentially in recent times . And while the system is far from perfect , the income is crucial to the newly formed government in rebuilding the city , whose basic infrastructure has been shattered by war . Currently , Somalia 's economy is largely supported by aid from donor governments , while the relatively peaceful business environment is propped up by the African Union Mission in Somalia African ( AMISOM ) . The security forces squeezed the al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu , but the insurgents still lurk and periodically launch terror attacks . Read this : The global cost of Somali piracy . Brigadier Michael Ondoga , of AMISOM , told CNN recently that although Al-Shabaab was `` largely defeated '' in Mogadishu , there were still issues with its members `` melting into the population '' and taking advantage of the city 's large size to hide . But Somali security forces have succeeded in pre-empting many suicide attacks and have arrested some of the Al-Shabaab operatives hiding among the capital 's population . `` The situation is generally good at the moment -- the security forces are controlling it very well , '' Ondoga said . `` Here in the city now , the big guns are quiet , the streets are lit , many ( in the ) diaspora are coming back , new construction is going on , business is booming , '' he said . And despite the long list of challenges , Mogadishu businessmen like Osman are hopeful of a brighter future . `` For me I was here ( during the conflict ) and the situation I see now is a situation I have never seen before . So the situation now is getting better , '' he says .
Mogadishu , the capital of war-torn Somalia , is experiencing an economic renaissance . Entrepreneurs hope tourists will return to the country . Both real estate and hotel sectors are growing as well as investment optimism . The city has a population of about 2 million people who live in slums that have been cleared for development by government agencies like the National Development Authority ( NDA ).