Ethiopia nile dam 30% completed

Ethiopia's government has completed around 30 per cent of the Renaissance Dam on the River Nile. Sources in the government say that the administrative and technical work at the site of the dam is almost ready for the second phase to begin with the construction of the main body of the structure.It is estimated that the hydro-electric project will produce approximately 6,000 megawatts of electricity when it is commissioned in 2016. Ethiopia is expected to earn around €2 million a day by exporting electricity to neighbouring countries.On the political front, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Addis Ababa has called on both Egypt and Sudan to activate the tripartite committee to implement the recommendations made by international experts to ensure that the construction of the dam will not damage the countries downstream."We accepted the experts' report as it stands," said Dina Mufti, a spokesman for the Ethiopian government. "Egypt should accept it as well and move forward."-

Addis Ababa Light Rail's Civil Work to Be Completed This Year

23 September 2013 , By Nesru Jemal, Source: ERTA

Completion of civil works for the first light rail system in Ethiopia is expected this year, according to the Chinese Railway Engineering Corporation, the contractor for the project.Construction of the light rail transit system, which will cover a total of 34 kilometers with two major lines, began in January 2012. It was expected to be completed within three years. The timetable was put in question when the project faced a number of difficulties, particularly associated with issues of right of way.The Ethiopian Railway Corporation says securing rights of way has made progress, and 43% of the overall project has now been completed.The ERC hopes to start the electromechanical element of the project this year once the civil engineering work is finished.The budget for the light rail transit system is set at US$475 million, of which 85% percent is provided by loans secured from the Chinese Exim Bank.Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Hydro-Powering East Africa

23 September 2013 , By Nesru Jemal, Source: ERTA

President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, stated "This (Djibouti-Ethiopia Power Interconnection Project) is to reduce significantly the cost of the energy bill that weighs as much on the competitiveness of our economy as on the living standards of our households."The development objective of the project was to improve electricity access in Ethiopia and Djibouti at affordable prices through regional cooperation in power trade.The AfDB has been an active partner in implementing the connection by providing USD 95 million for the project. The 283-km Ethiopia-Djibouti transmission line was officially inaugurated in October 2011.The 230-kV line, enabling Djibouti to import up to 60 MW of electricity, is estimated to be earning Ethiopia at least USD 1.5 million per month, and has eased Djibouti's reliance on fossil-fuel power plants and generators.The project also provided short-term employment for about 1,190 people in Ethiopia and 460 in Djibouti. Also, it generated opportunities for jobs and transfer of skills to sub-contractors in Djibouti and Ethiopia. In Djibouti, import of the low-cost hydropower would help to suppress the costly thermal generation resulting in cost savings through reduced oil import.The interconnection also enables the two systems to support each other during emergencies. ADF 11 has invested a loan of USD 42.89 million for Ethiopia and loan/grant of USD 54.79 million to co-finance the project with the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning Electricité de Djibouti (EdD).Source: AfDB

Turkish industrial zone planned in Ethiopia

Turkey is preparing to create a Turkish industrial

zone in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, as part of its African policy which started in 2005 and has been showing marked development of its business assets.Speaking at the opening of the African Strategies Sectoral Evaluation Meeting in Ankara on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said that the Ethiopian prime minister had proposed the assignment of some land to establish a Turkish industrial zone in Addis Ababa, and that Turkey hopes to implement this plan.“They [the Ethiopians] know that we don’t go to Ethiopia with a passing fancy and calculations of temporary profits. We also know that they don’t only offer a business opportunity but that they opened their hearts,” Davutoğlu said, stressing that between Turkey and Ethiopia there are not only economic relations but there are also thriving social relations as well.Commenting on the new diplomatic steps, Davutoğlu stated that Turkey has come a long way in the last ten years. Davutoğlu explained that a Turkish firm invested $50 million in Ethiopia in 2005 while there are now 341 Turkish companies with a total investment of $3 billion in the country.The Turkish foreign minister also mentioned the results of the Turkish government’s public diplomacy in Africa. “The amount of Turkish aid to the African continent, particularly to Somalia, has reached $750 million. If we hadn’t spent billions dollars of in public diplomacy and activity, we wouldn’t have the positive image and perception that we got from our humanitarian aid in Somalia,” Davutoğlu said, reiterating that Turkey is reaping the rewards of its humanitarian foreign policy.Saying that Turkish companies can take advantage of numerous opportunities in fields such as construction and trade, the foreign minister also drew attention to important attempts in the business sector by the African Union, which ranks as one of the most active international organizations in the world.In the African continent, there are 30 offices of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency(TİKA) and 25 trade offices of the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade, aiming to strengthen economic and bilateral relations between the two countries. The number of Turkish ambassadors in Africa has risen to 34 from 12 in 2005.Turkey has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with four African countries, as well as agreements to prevent double taxation and support mutual investments, and Turkey has also established a business council with 17 African countries. Turkish Airlines (THY) has flights to 35 African destinations to improve links between Turkey and African countries as part of the African policy.

Source: Today’s Zaman

Norway partners with World Bank to support Ethiopia in scaling up climate-smart land management

Source: World BankADDIS ABABA, August 30, 2013 - Ethiopia, a country highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, land degradation, deforestation and food insecurity, is stepping up its efforts to fight climate change, promote sustainable rural development and build resilience. Today, two agreements were signed between the Government of Norway and the World Bank to provide significant financing for sustainable land management, climate-smart agriculture and forest protection in the country.The first agreement injects an additional US$50 million grant funds from the Government of Norway through a trust fund to co-finance the Sustainable Land Management Program (SLMP II) aimed at reducing land degradation and increasing land productivity of smallholder farmers.In the second agreement, Norway provides US$13 million through the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund (BioCF) to support Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Facility and to promote climate-smart agriculture, forest protection and land rehabilitation at the landscape level. Norway’s contribution complements initial funding of US$5 million from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), and ongoing financing from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)."Norway is pleased to collaborate with the World Bank in supporting Ethiopia's ambitious efforts to fight land degradation, deforestation and climate change while promoting sustainable development in the land use sector. The two complementary programs have the potential to protect the natural resource endowment and to promote climate-smart land use in order to adapt and mitigate climate change and increase food security and resilience in a vast area of the country," said Tove Stub, Charge d`affaires a.i., Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa.Under SLMP II, the Government of Ethiopia is building on the remarkable progress achieved during implementation of the program’s first phase in reducing land degradation and increasing sustainable land and water productivity. Under SLMP I, which started in 2008, over 190,000 hectares of degraded communal and individual farmlands have been rehabilitated and agricultural productivity has improved in areas that were hitherto found to be less productive. SLMP II, a blended IDA credit (US$50 million) and GEF grant (US$14 million) with co-financing from Norway (US$50 million), scales up earlier achievements.The ongoing process to reduce deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), a key pillar of Ethiopia’s fight against climate change, will be significantly strengthened with support from the BioCarbon Fund. This program will enable Ethiopia to fully finance its ongoing REDD+ readiness process and to develop a REDD+ pilot program at a Regional State level. It will also provide advisory services to the CRGE Facility, in particular to enhance access to climate finance for REDD+ and other land-based activities."These funds will allow Ethiopia to become ready for REDD+ and will provide for an ambitious landscape-level program to address the causes of deforestation in the most forested region of our country, while also promoting social benefits to local communities,” said H. E. Sileshi Getahun, State Minister, Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.The BioCF’s new initiative provides an important boost to the activities of the CRGE Facility, which was established by the Government of Ethiopia to spearhead national efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2025."The World Bank expects that these two initiatives, including others not mentioned here, will contribute significantly to Ethiopia's efforts to deal with three of the most daunting challenges of our times: land degradation, deforestation and climate change. It is also a good opportunity for the Bank to share its global expertise on climate finance to provide advisory support to the CRGE Facility. These two initiatives strengthen the Bank's partnership for Ethiopia's sustainable development,” said Guang Zhe Chen, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia.