The Ethio-Djibouti railway, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative flagship infrastructure project for African continent, has been providing economic and social benefits to the people of
The Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to connect
Ethio-Djibouti railway is one of the several development projects of the initiative which was put into operation on
With a total length of 756 kilometers, the railway that starts from
The project is being operated and maintained by the joint venture of
Representatives of the companies told ENA that the railway is playing significant role to the development of the countries in terms of increasing transport revenues, enhancing import and export trade as well as in the provision of passenger transport services.
They said railway has been facilitating regional connectivity, people to people interaction and economic integration.
Deputy General Manager of CCECC-CREC JV project office Yang Anwei, said the Addis Ababa Djibouti railway has been successfully operated nearly six years, which is also the end of the operation service contract of the Chinese management.
According to him, over the past six years of operation, the transportation revenue has increased by more than 35 percent every year. The revenue in the first half of 2023 alone has increased by 76 percent compared with same period of last year.
This shows that the
The railway has been providing crucial benefits to
He pointed out that the number of
According to the Deputy General Manager, refrigerated facilities essential to transport export items such as beef, meat, vegetables and coffee will be instrumental for the future growth of cargo transportation in Ethio-
The dry port of Mojo and Dire Dawa, built alongside Addis Ababa Djibouti railway have been put into use one after another and the expansion project of Mojo logistic center which is under construction has its own impact for the railway transport. The railway is also vital to stimulating the activities and further development of
All of these activities are expected to increase railway contribution for the economic development of
China Railway No.2
By working together and transfer the infrastructure operation and maintenance responsibility to Ethiopians he noted that "in the near future our Ethiopian friends can manage this whole system as what we have done in the past five years".
He mentioned that even if the maintenance and operation contracts are closed, the technical support from the company will continue.
The Belt and Road Initiative 10th year anniversary summit will be held in
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