Ethiopia receives funding to upgrade major roads

Date: 15/2/2012

Ethiopia is set to upgrade its transport infrastructure with a $234.5 million (£149 million) loan from the African Development Bank.

The money will be used to reconstruct two roads that will connect the nation with neighbouring countries in a bid to improve trade, the Addis Fortune reports.

A 112km route from Bedele to Metu will be upgraded as this is part of a network that connects Addis Ababa with the South Sudan capital Juba.

The 197km road between Hawassa and Ageremariam - part of Mombassa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa Road Corridor - will also be improved using the funding, while $168 million will finance construction work on the Hawasssa-Ageremariam Road, which is part of the Trans-African Highway.

Gaps in transport infrastructure are currently preventing the development of trade links within Africa and this latest project aims to address this, the newspaper stated.

Currently, TRL is working in Ethiopia, advising the Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA) as part of a preparatory study towards the establishment of a Road Research Centre (RRC) in Addis Ababa. With assistance from the World Bank, ERA hopes that the centre will eventually employ up to 150 people and will undertake research into all aspects of road and transport engineering.

Posted by Nick Anderson