The government of Ethiopia plans to overhaul part of the country’s roads infrastructure following the approval of a financing agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Around 220 kilometers of roads will be upgraded to “all-weather high standard asphalt roads” under the terms of the loan-and-grant-deal amounting to a total of nearly $90 million, according to Ethiopian business news website 2Merkato.
The report said 65% of the sum is being advanced in the form of a grant, to directly connect Jimma and Sodo in the country’s southwest and further connect the southern regional town of Sawla to the main trunk road network, linking the local populations to Addis Ababa city and the rest of the country.
Navjeet Virk of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: “In a country which is five times the size of the UK but lacks any major rail network, roads are vital to supporting the growth of Ethiopia’s economy, which has averaged 10.8% yearly growth since 2005.”
Virk said: “The African Development Bank’s financial involvement in this expansion project showcases its continued commitment to improving transport infrastructure development in Africa. This investment also marks another phase in Ethiopia’s commitment to upgrading its road network and follows recent projects such as the Modjo to Hawassa Expressway which broke ground in early 2016.”
According to the AfDB, the direct beneficiaries of the project “will include small holder farmers, traders, agro-businesses, transporters, women entrepreneurs, mothers, transport sector experts and others”.
The main economic activity in the region is small holder and mixed crop / livestock, the AfDB said. “New sugar factories are under construction south of Sawla and a coal mine to be exploited by cement manufactures may be developed along the project road. The project influence area is not well connected with roads to Addis Ababa, the economic center of Ethiopia and needs improved road network to ease transport and enhance exploitation of the area’s potential.”
Read the complete story at Out-Law.com
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See also:
- Ethiopia-South Sudan Road Opens up Trade Route
- ERA: Ethiopia to Spend Over 5 Billion Birr on Road Projects
- Kaliti-Kilinto and Kaliti-Tullu Dimtu Roads to Be Constructed at a Cost of 4.7 Billion Birr