Ethiopia and China to build a new US$300mn industrial park in East Africa

Ethiopia and China have announced the continuation of their partnership, to build a new US$300mn industrial park to be located in Adama city. Construction could commence as early as the end of 2019, says Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, Liu Yu.

85% of the funding for the project will be from Chinese government concessional loans, while the other 15% will be from the Ethiopian government, says Liu.

The construction of the new industrial park will be the second contracted industrial park between the two countries, the first was inaugurated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed back in October 2018.

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The first Adama Industrial Park – built by China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) – took two years to build at a cost of  US$140mn and was expected to create 40,000 direct and indirect jobs. Its location alongside the Ethio-Djibouti railway line also meant the site was said to have a strategic economic position, with expectations to generate more than US$38mn in exports.

"The governments of China and Ethiopia have attached great importance to their cooperation in various fields including in construction of industrial parks, whereby they have achieved fruitful results," said Liu.

The projects are a result of efforts to position Ethiopia as the leading manufacturing hub in Africa, industrialising the country by 2025. "The planned industrial park will focus on attracting firms engaged in equipment manufacturing," said Liu.

The new park is set to cover 100 hectares of land and create job opportunities for 25,000 Ethiopians.