ADDIS ABABA – The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, on Thursday, said the government had embarked on railway and other infrastructure projects worth 6.4 billion dollars to accelerate economic growth.
Ethiopia had projected an 11.4 per cent growth in 2015, doubling the five per cent projected growth for Africa by the World Bank.
Desalegn, who addressed members of House of Parliament in Addis Ababa, said the ongoing railway project, covering 2,095km, was the biggest of all the projects in the country.
He said the project was in progress and currently at 1,500km within two corridors, with the first route from Addis Ababa to Djibouti .
The prime minister said the second route was running from Mekelle to Awash in the north and eastern part Ethiopia respectively. [eap_ad_1]
Desalegn said Ethiopia had also established 10 sugar factories with seven expected to be completed in 2015, while three would be completed in the next two years.
He said the projects were being funded by facilities obtained from Turkey, Brazil, Russia, China and Ethiopian government.
He noted that the country’s economic performance was projected at 11.4 per cent in 2015. “In this fiscal year, our growth is projected at 11.4 per cent, which surpasses the average five per cent growth in the rest of Africa.
“However, global economic crisis delayed the release of funds, as a result, delaying some of the projects.’’
The 1,500km Ethiopian Light Rail project being constructed by a Chinese firm had reached 74 per cent completion ahead of the 2015 target. (NAN) [eap_ad_4]