Machinery for Ethiopian Dam arrives at Djibouti
10/09/2011

Some of the machinery ordered by the Ethiopian government for the building of the Renaissance Dam started arriving in Port Djibouti. The machines that arrived at Port of Djibouti and are ready for transport were imported primarily from the United States and Italy.

A couple of US made Caterpillar family trucks, (990) at a cost of 1.5 million dollars each and Italian Astra machinery (including RD 40 and RD 50) at a cost of 250,00 euros each are currently at Port Djibouti awaiting transport to the project site. The imported machinery consists of bulldozers, dumpers, rollers, graders as well as other heavy duty machines to be utilized in the construction of the Dam said Mr. Pierre Kothari, Agent for Salini Contractors in Djibouti, on Wednesday.

The machines being imported are the latest and best of their kind added Mr Kothari. The Salini representative asked that the Customs Authority and other involved agencies to assist in the speedy transport of the machines to the project site.

The imported machinery is expected to play an important in the construction of the dam as well as other projects across the country according to Engineer Semgnew Bekele, Manager of the dam construction project.

After the completion of the Great Renaissance Dam the Ethiopian government is planning to construct other dams on the Nile as part of produce 20,000 megawatts of power within the next ten years part of a plan to spend 12 billion dollars over 25 years to raise power generating capability.
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At least 1000 houses in Ethiopia's town of Nazareth are set to be demolished

At least 1 000 houses in Ethiopia's town of Nazareth are set to be demolished to make way for the construction of a recently launched Ethiopian railway project, as one of the train stations will be located in that area.

Nazareth is about 100 kilometres east of Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Last month, Ethiopia launched the construction of the more than 5 000 km rail network that aims to link the capital to various regions of the country.

The Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) assured that all those displaced by the construction works would be moved to another location that had all the necessary residential facilities.

Already a committee has been established to deal with compensation and related issues for those affected by the massive construction project.

The project is expected to cost the Horn of Africa country more than US$1 billion, the ERC announced.

Loans from foreign partners and the Ethiopian government will finance the construction of the railroad.

The ERC said the rail network will stretch out in eight directions across the country, with a 655.7km track - the longest- between Addis Ababa and Djibouti and should help the country enhance its local trade as well as its foreign export market.

Ethiopia-Djibouti rail

Transport is one of the main barriers to trade, the absence of a reliable railway in the country especially between major towns and the main Ethiopian port in Djibouti, have seen the costs of trade escalating.

The Ethiopian rail authority said it expected that, when functional, the railway system would "enable the nation to transport 6 million tonnes of freight, which in the past has only been impossible by truck".

The railway project is one of priority areas of the Ethiopian Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), a five year government development programme that will see the construction of 1 833.6km of railway lines.

So far US$100 million has been secured for the project from the Chinese Export and Import Bank.

India has pledged a US$300 million loan for the Ethiopian-Djibouti railway project.

A total of 18 companies have won contracts to design the railroads, with the construction of the 210km track between Nazareth and Meiso having been awarded to the Chinese Railway Corporation.

In addition, the Addis Ababa light train project will create at least 5 000 jobs.

Ethiopia has launched an aggressive development plan and hopes to be classified by the World Bank as a lower middle income country by 2015.

The existing 60km rail link between Addis Ababa and Djibouti has been suspended as it had reached its life expectancy.

It was constructed by the French for the Emperor, Menelik in the early 1900s

Bahir Dar University to construct eight new campuses

The first maritime training institute is one of them

Bahir Dar University (BDU), one of the oldest higher learning institutions in the country, has commissioned the construction of eight new campuses around the city, one of which is the first maritime institute in the Ethiopia, at a cost of 1.5 billion birr. Dr. Bayle Damte, president of the University, told The Reporter that the construction of the new campuses is currently well in progress with an average expenditure of three million Birr a day for the whole project.

The new college grounds under construction include a textile, garment and fashion design institute, one college of agriculture and environmental sciences, college of medicine, land administration and law faculty and maritime training institute, which, when operational, will be the first of its kind in Ethiopia.

The maritime institute, when fully operational, will produce 4,000 marine officers a year. Currently, there are about 300 maritime trainees at the temporary facility. The first 20 graduates joined commercial liners in Germany and Israel, while the next 24 graduates are also working in Israel, Dr. Bayle said. “The companies that hired our students are sending notes of appreciation to the university saying the Ethiopian officers are the best performers. An Israeli captain is appointed as director of the maritime institute and three Indian engineers oversee the technical aspects.

Furthermore, the president said that BDU would grant autonomy to the new institutions over many of the aspects of administration.

ADDIS ABABA | Yemreha Spa




PROJECT SIGHT

Bidding for 1.3m tones Steel Factory Sees Nine Interest
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The bidding process for what could be the first and biggest steel factory, Tossa, with a capacity of producing 1.3 million tonnes a year is under way with nine international companies having shown interest.

Tossa Steel Factory, established by Mohammed Al-Alamoudi (Shiek), invited offers for the factory which is to be built around 30km from Kombolcha, 376km north of the capital in the Amhara Regional State a month ago.

The company has already received the go ahead for 300ht of land from the region. However, there are two possible plots the company is looking at, according to Shimelese Shiferaw, head of environmental protection and land administration office of Debub Wollo Zone, where the plots are located.

Representatives of the companies - two from Germany, three from China, two from Italy, one from South Korea, and one from France –have shown interest in the factory, even visiting last week to assess the project and financial risks before submitting their bids ahead of the December 16, 2011 deadline.

Ethiopia signs air service pacts with 11 nations

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has signed air service agreements with 11 countries including India to improve connectivity and benefit in the fields of trade, investment and tourism. Ethiopia signed the agreements at the 4th International Civil Aviation Negotiation Conference held in Mumbai, India,from Oct 16 to 22, an Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official said.


Ethiopia carried out consultations on air services agreements with 16 countries, the authority said in a press statement here Tuesday, quoting CAA Air Transport Planning Directorate Endesahw Yigezu, who led the Ethiopian delegation at the conference. In Mumbai, the CAA signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on air services with Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, India, Slovakia, Iceland, Poland, Jamaica and Cameroon.The CAA also held air service consultations with Britain, France, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Endesahw said Ethiopia would benefit from the agreements reached with the respective countries in the areas of trade, investment and tourism.


The Mumbai conference was among meetings organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to facilitate countries negotiating for bilateral and multilateral dealings. The first three conferences were held in Dubai (2008), Istanbul (2009) and Montego Bay (2010) respectively. More than 350 delegates from 65 countries attended the Mumbai conference.

China to lend Ethiopia $100 mln -Xinhua

Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:57am GMT
(Reuters) - China is set to loan Ethiopia $100 million and donate a fleet of 90 vehicles to help the African state complete its water supply projects, the Xinhua state news agency said.
China's Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Yaoping and Ethiopian Finance Minister Sufian Ahmed signed a deal for the loan on Wednesday, Xinhua said. It did not say when the money will be disbursed.

The loan will help pay for deep well water projects in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa while the fleet of 90 vehicles -- 65 cars and 25 buses -- would be used to "serve state guests", Xinhua said.

Government leaders from both sides said the loan demonstrated good bilateral relations which would improve further with deeper trade and investment links.

China's increasing reliance on Africa for oil and mineral resources, as well as diplomatic support, has been backed in recent years by more monetary aid from Beijing.

A separate Xinhua report said China handed over to Ethiopia on Wednesday a modern hospital built by Beijing at a cost of 80 million yuan ($12.6 million) to "promote friendship" between the two states.

But critics say China's aid is too often tied to its investment interests and can undermine efforts to encourage clean government in Africa because it does not demand the same kind of accountability as Western aid does.

China says its aid comes with no strings attached, is welcomed by African nations and has benefited millions of ordinary people. ($1 = 6.346 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing)

Insurance deadline approaches for car owners

Thursday, 17 November 2011 Ethiopian Business News - Banking and Finance .
Vehicle owners in Ethiopia without third party vehicle insurance after the 10th of December will face disciplinary action. The deadline for registration was set by the Insurance Fund Office last September.

The Insurance Fund Office is in charge of setting tariff rates, preparing windshield sticker and certificates, handling emergency claims and third party claims for uninsured or untraced vehicles.

The office has delegated the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation to act on its behalf in all areas except for the setting of tariff rates.

The new third party policy insures vehicular accidents on ‘any person other than the insured person, a member of the insured person’s family, the driver or any person employed on a vehicle to which the policy applies.’

Although there are no limits to the extent that victims can claim for a particular accident the total extent of liability under the new policy is limited to a maximum of 40,000 birr in the case of a death, 15,000 birr for bodily injury, 1,000 birr for emergency medical treatment and 100,000 birr in the case of damage to property.

The overage rates are said to be lower than those applicable in other member countries of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). This could be a point of contention especially since motor coverage in member countries is applicable according to the liability coverage of the country they are in according to Debebe Tamene manager of the new policy at the EIC.