The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) stressed that the Kilinto Industrial Park will power Ethiopia’s potential to attract more foreign companies in the pharmaceutical sector.
ADDIS ABABA (Xinhua)– The Ethiopian government on Monday disclosed that Ethiopia’s Chinese-built Kilinto Industrial Park (KIP) has boosted the country’s ambition to lure experienced international pharmaceutical companies across the globe.
The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) on Monday (May 27) revealed the signing of investment agreements with 10 international companies that have “shown great interest” to set up their industrial plants inside the premises of KIP.
EIC stressed that the industrial park, once fully finalized, will power the East African country’s potential to attract more foreign companies in the pharmaceutical sector.
“The Kilinto Industrial Park is now on the verge of completion, and once completed it will host more than 1,000 pharmaceutical companies,” EIC Deputy Commissioner Temesgen Telahun was quoted as saying by Ethiopia’s state media Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) on Monday.
Lying on 270-hectares of land on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, the Kilinto Industrial Park is under construction by Chinese construction giant, Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CTCEGCL), at a cost of 204 million U.S. dollars.
The industrial park, which is fully financed by the World Bank, features 18-km of asphalt road, provision of basic social services, green spaces, warehouses, business centers and car parking space, according to the Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC).
IPDC officials had recently disclosed the Ethiopian government’s plan to commission the Kilinto Industrial Park for interested and experienced pharmaceutical companies as of June this year.
Adenan Bere, Communications Director at the IPDC, told Xinhua recently that the East African country expects the KIP, which is under construction exclusively for pharmaceutical firms, to lure world-class companies with a view to help Ethiopia’s economy through the export of pharmaceutical products as well as import-substitution.
Adenan also noted that in addition to attracting foreign firms to penetrate Ethiopia’s emerging pharmaceutical sector, the IPDC is also working with local financial institutions to support local firms to invest in the industrial park.
As the Ethiopian government in recent years embarked on attracting foreign firms in the pharmaceutical sector, Chinese firms are becoming among the major foreign firms in exerting their capital and technology in the sector. In June last year, Chinese pharmaceutical giant, Sansheng Pharmaceuticals Plc, had inaugurated its production plant in Ethiopia amid Ethiopia’s higher demand for import substitution in medicines.
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