Construction works of the Addis-Adama expressway has reached 82 percent and will be fully completed in April 2014, Fortune reported.

The expressway is designed to relieve the heavy traffic congestion in the route. After the opening of the expressway, travel time between the two cities will only take 40 minutes from the current two hours.

The fees which will paid to use the expressway have been under study for six months by a special committee at the Ethiopian Roads Authority, according to Samson Wondimu, communications director with the Authority. Though he did not disclose the fees, the rates will depend on travel distance and type of vehicle, he said.

The road, which was estimated to cost more than eight billion Birr, includes eight large bridges and 77 smaller ones.

China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) was contracted for the design and construction of the project was awarded a no-bid contract for acquiring financing from the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China, according to Samson. The Bank provided a 20-year, 350 million-dollar loan for the project.

43 percent of the project cost will be covered by the government of Ethiopian. Beijing Expressway, a subsidiary of Beijing Enterprises Holdings, is the consultant on the project.

The Addis-Adama expressway, the first toll road in Ethiopia has has been under construction since 2010.

Source: Fortune