First electrified rail link opens

Officials from Ethiopia and Djibouti inaugurated Africa's first modern electrified railway on Oct 5 in a grand ceremony in Addis Ababa.

The $4 billion railway stretches 751.7 kilometers and will carry trains traveling at speeds of up to 120 km/h.

Constructed by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp, services will cut the travel time between the two nations' capitals from seven days by road to just 10 hours.

The line will also provide landlocked Ethiopia with faster access to the Djibouti port, while there are also expectations it will boost industrialization along its route.

Ethiopia aims to become one of sub-Saharan Africa's four major manufacturing hubs, along with South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, says Zemedeneh Negatu, managing partner at Ernst & Young's office in Addis Ababa. The new railway will help, he adds.

Today, more than 95 percent of Ethiopia's imports come through Djibouti's port, according to Mekonnen Abera, director-general of the Ethiopian Maritime Authority.

"This railway line will greatly reduce the travel times and will contribute to the development of Ethiopia's hinterland," adds Dereje Tefera, a spokesman for Ethiopian Railway Corp. "It's an electrified system and environmentally friendly.

"This is what makes it different from other railway projects in Africa."

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/07/2016 page2)