Ethiopia: Japan Grants over 6 Billion Yen to Ethiopian Infrastructure

Thursday, 09 June 2011-The Governments of Japan provided a grant of close to 1.4 billion birr (6.567 billion Japanese Yen) to Ethiopia for three infrastructure projects.The grant will be used for rehabilitation of trunk road Phase IV from Dejen to Lumame, Replacement of the Awash Bridge and construction of secondary schools in Amhara Region.The grant agreement is signed this morning (June 9, 2011) between Ethiopian Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Sufian Ahmed and Ambassador Hiroyuki Kishino of Japan to Ethiopia.After signing the agreement Ambassador Kishino promised that his government will continue supporting Ethiopia’s plan of extending the existing road networks of 49,000 kilometres to 64,500 kilometres in five years.
Sufian on his part also noted that all the three projects, which Japan is going to finance, are top priorities in the coming five years growth and transformation plan of Ethiopia.“It is very timely to replace the bridge,” said the minister, commenting on the replacement of the strategic Awash Bridge, which links Addis Ababa to Port Djibouti and located 200 kilometres east of the capital. Japan cars and trucks are the number one choices of many Ethiopians. Import data shows that over 80 percent of vehicles in Ethiopia are made in Japan including the famous ones such as Toyota, Isuzu. Ambassador Kishino, the third project of the agreement will assure the construction eight new secondary schools in Amhara region with each having 32 classrooms. In addition, nine schools will also be expanded. “Japan has already been engaged in school construction in various regions of the country with grants of 1.64 billion Japanese Yen,” he said. The progress in education, which the ambassador quoted shows that from 2004-2008, secondary school enrolment rate in Ethiopia has increased from 27 to 35.6 percent.In the coming five years, the country planned to raise the rate from 39 percent in 2010 to 62 percent at the end of the ambitious growth and transformation period (2015).(NewBusinessEthiopia.com)