Ethiopia is all set to partner with China to construct a new industrial park worth 300 million U.S. dollars in the East African country.
In an interview with Xinhua, Liu Yu, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, said the construction of the park could start before the end of 2019. It will be built in Adama city, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa.
Liu said that 85 percent of the funding for the construction of the industrial park will be provided through Chinese government concessional loans while the remaining 15 percent will come from the Ethiopian government.
“The planned industrial park will focus on attracting firms engaged in equipment manufacturing,” Liu added.
He said that work is being done to conclude land acquisition and financing-related procedures. He added that the Chinese and Ethiopian governments have attached great importance to their cooperation in various fields including in the construction of industrial parks, whereby they have achieved desired results.
The upcoming industrial park will be second of its kind in Adama city, a key commercial hub in central Ethiopia, with Chinese finance and expertise. The first industrial park was built in Adama by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) at a cost of 146 million dollars. It was inaugurated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on October 2018.
The upcoming industrial park, which will be built in an area covering 100 hectares of land, is expected to create job opportunities for around 25,000 Ethiopians. It is in line with Ethiopia’s grand plan to transform its largely agrarian economy into an industrialized one by 2025.
In related news, Ethiopia on Friday disclosed record 142 million U.S. dollars export revenue from the Chinese-built Hawassa Industrial Park, up 50 percent from the same period in the 2017/18 fiscal year.
