(5 Oct 2016) STORY
Ethiopia launched its latest massive infrastructure project on Wednesday, a railway linking the landlocked country with a major port on the Gulf of Aden.
The new line between Ethiopia and the small coastal nation of Djibouti, the portal for almost all of Ethiopia's imports, is one of several high-profile projects that have attracted Chinese and Turkish investors, among others, as foreign investment climbed to more than 2 billion US dollars last year.
Speaking at the ceremony a Special representative of Chinese President said that railway line should be seen as a practical cooperation between China and Africa.
While economic growth has slowed after averaging more than 10 percent in the decade through 2014, it has remained what the US last year called "impressive".
Ethiopia shifted its import focus to Djibouti after its border war with Eritrea between 1998 and 2000 created tensions that remain today.
Officials hope the railway will help ease the notorious road traffic from hundreds of trucks that transport goods daily.
The railway section in Ethiopia, which was completed in three and half years, received 70 percent of its financing through China's EximBank while the Ethiopian government covered the rest.
Two Chinese companies were selected to carry out the construction, and the locomotives were imported from China.
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