The electrified rail link being built between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, and Djibouti, the land locked nation’s main trade corridor, will be finalized in a year time, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn said.

The Premier explained the Railways Corporation’s project is half way complete.

The project’s cost is being covered by the Ethiopian government and U.S. $ 1.6 Billion loan secured from the Export-Import Bank of China.

In response to questions raised from MPs, Haliemariam said, “Priority has been given to it”. “Next October, the line will be finished.”

The railway is going to be 656 Kilometers long and it is part of the five years growth and transformation plan the government has set. The plan intends to spend U.S. $ 28 Billion of public and private funding on infrastructure and industry.

The Ethiopian government argues the new route to Djibouti will halve travel times.

Hailemariam also explained Turkish contractor Yapi Merkezi Insaat VE Sanayi AS has commenced work on a northern railway line from Awash to Woldiya, while a Brazil-funded project to the southwest hasn’t begun.

The Railway expected to link Ethiopia with Kenya is going to be funded by Russia. “Because there is an economic slowdown those countries have not been able to release the loans,” Hailemariam noted.

In a related development, out of the 10 factories Sugar Corporation is building seven are expected to be completed in one year time. Commenting on this the Premier said, “We will be able to export the sugar they produce this year”.

China Development Bank concluded U.S. $ 580 Million loan agreement with Sugar Corporation in October to finance six processors in the South Omo region. In addition to this, back in May China’s Ex-Im Bank provided a credit line of $500 million for a sugar plant in Northern Tigray State.

Source: Reuters