Skip to main content

Ethiopia’s building roads

Ethiopia is set to benefit economically from investment in a number of new key road links totalling over US$1 billion. The east African nation’s 218km Modjo-Hassan highway is expected to cost US$720 million to construct. The highway will be constructed in two stages. The first section of the route will stretch 93km from Modjo to Zeway and is expected to cost $350 million to complete. The second section of the highway will be 125km long and link Zeway with Hewassa and this stretch is estimated to cost $370
November 29, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Ethiopia is set to benefit economically from investment in a number of new key road links totalling over US$1 billion.

The east African nation’s 218km Modjo-Hassan highway is expected to cost US$720 million to construct. The highway will be constructed in two stages. The first section of the route will stretch 93km from Modjo to Zeway and is expected to cost $350 million to complete. The second section of the highway will be 125km long and link Zeway with Hewassa and this stretch is estimated to cost $370 million to build.

However, funding for the highway project has yet to be finalised. The Ethiopia Roads Authority (ERA) is looking to obtain a portion of the project’s funding from the China Exim Bank and the 2332 World Bank, as well as a $350 million tranche from the South Korean Government and the 1586 African Development Bank.

Two Chinese firms are building another new road connection. The 133km road will run from Mille to Kombolcha, through Bati. Shandong Highway is working on a 73km stretch of the route from Milla to Burka, while Zhongmei Engineering has the Deal for the 60km stretch of road from Burka to Kombolcha. The project is being carried out for the Ethiopian Government and is being handled by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA). Indian firm International Consultants & Technocrats (ICT) has a US$1.38 million consultancy contract to oversee the project through a joint venture with local firm Civil Works Consulting Engineers.

A third key road link will benefit transport links in and around Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The city authorities are planning work on the road connecting the Inter-city bus terminal with the Lideta Church, and the road between St George Church and 18 Mazoria. The work was due to begin this month and will take a year to complete. The authorities say they will require a budget of some US$397 million to build up to 113km of roads with asphalt surfaces in the 2013/2014 period.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Three year programme for Ethiopia road projects planned
    January 18, 2017
    A new programme of works planned by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) will see the upgrading and surfacing of 372km of roads in the country. The ERA signed a series of contracts with a number of construction firms, both from Ethiopia and from overseas. The firms that will handle the road building activity are; Ethiopian Defense Construction, China Railway Engineering, China Wuyi, Eney Construction, Yotek Construction and FAL General Contractor. The programme of works is worth close to US$289 million in al
  • Ethiopia planning road network growth
    June 11, 2018
    Ethiopia is setting a target of 2020 to complete its road expansion programme. The plan has been to double the length of the country’s road network in the period from 2015 to 2020. At present Ethiopia has around 121,200km of roads, compared with around 100,000km of roads in 2015. But by 2020, the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) aims to expand the network to 200,000km.
  • Ethiopia’s challenging cement market: consumption stimulation
    January 26, 2018
    Ethiopia’s cement industry has enjoyed substantial growth in the past decade. However, challenges linked to the government’s investment policy could erode these gains, as Shem Oirere reports With nearly 16.5 million tonnes of cement capacity and 10% average growth in annual consumption, Ethiopia is among the top cement producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Only Nigeria and South Africa rival it.
  • World Bank part funding new Ethiopian road connections
    October 21, 2014
    In Ethiopia the construction of two new road links will be carried out by Chinese and Spanish contractors. The Ethiopia Roads Authority (ERA) awarded a contract worth close to US$48 million to Hunan Huanda Road and Bridge Corporation of China to build a 48.3km road in the south of the country. The work will take 29 months to complete. Two Spanish firms meanwhile will work together to carry out a $60.6 million contract in Ethiopia’s Oromia State. This project is for a 63km road connecting Ambo with Walliso.