Ethiopia speeds up road construction

Ethiopia is an agricultural country. So far, most farmers have to walk for half a day to get on the road. Therefore, the lack of smooth roads has always had a great impact on the development of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, and its ambitious plan is to become a middle-income country by 2025 through a green and sustainable development path.

In the process, urban residents are growing and food production is facing a series of challenges. Speeding up the construction of urban roads and effectively improving road traffic capacity will be an important project that will benefit the people's livelihood in Ethiopia.

In 1997, Ethiopia’s highway mileage was 26,550 kilometers. By 2014, it will reach 99,522 kilometers. In order to achieve its ambitious growth target, Ethiopia expects its construction target to double the road mileage by 2020 to more than 200,000 kilometers.

However, with the massive construction of Ethiopian highways, the problem of soil erosion has followed. The terrain of parts of Ethiopia is undulating, and road construction may cause rivers to be diverted, ponds and lakes are destroyed, and it is also harmful to surface water resources and water environment.

The Ethiopian government is carrying out extensive road infrastructure projects, aiming to increase the country’s main road coverage from 100,000 kilometers in 2015 to 200,000 kilometers in 2020. The agreement signed with four Chinese companies will increase Ethiopia’s highway mileage by nearly 300 kilometers, improve the travel conditions of local residents, and is of great significance to driving employment in the region and promoting economic development.

On December 6, 2019, the Ethiopian Road Administration signed an agreement with four Chinese contractors to upgrade the four roads from gravel to asphalt. The total cost is US$188.5 million and will be funded by the Ethiopian government.

The total length of the road is 299 kilometers. The project includes: Hamusit-Este, Chulese-Soyama, Adale-Girawa and Gode-Kelafo Roads.

The first project, Hamusit-Este Highway in Amhara State, which will be constructed by the Chinese construction company Ningxia Communications Construction Co., Ltd. The project is 76.6 kilometers long and cost 45 million U.S. dollars. Funds for the project are provided by the Arab African Development Bank and the Ethiopian government. The project is expected to be completed in three years.

The second project, Chulase-Soyama Highway Project, with a total length of 79.5 kilometers, will be built in the southern part of Ethiopia. The project will cost 58 million U.S. dollars and will be fully funded by the Ethiopian government. The project will be completed within three years to upgrade existing roads to asphalt pavements.

The third project, the Adale-Girawa highway project in Oromia State, is 55 kilometers long. Hebei Construction Group Co., Ltd. won a project contract worth approximately US$46 million. According to reports, the funds for the project will also be borne by Ethiopia and will be completed within three years.

The fourth project, the Gode-Kelafo Roads road project in Somalia, is 88.5 kilometers long. It was signed by the Ethiopian Road Administration and the China Railway Seventh Group. The construction cost was 49 million US dollars and was funded by the Ethiopian government. The project will also be completed in three years.

On June 11, 2020, China Civil Engineering and the Ethiopian National Highway Administration signed a contract for the Dre Dawa-Snelli and Dre Dawa-Beppers road projects. After the completion of the project, it will effectively improve the traffic and roads out of the city in the Dre Dawa area.

The Delaware-Snelli and Delaware-Beppers roads are 27 kilometers long, including municipal roads and country roads. The project construction period is 36 months.