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GH Industrial plc, manufacturer of gypsum board and gypsum flour in Ethiopia, is to inaugurate two factories in the Amhara Regional State.

The gypsum board factory has the capacity to produce 4.2 million m2 of gypsum boards, will the gypsum mill is able to produce 50 thousand tons of gypsum flour per annum said Awel Buseri, Vice General Manager with GH.

The factories were turnkey projects with components imported in China and installed by Chinese engineers he said. The project took two years from the initial feasibility study to the final installation according to Awel.

Lifan launched its latest model assembled in Ethiopia, the SUV X-60. The new model will be the seventh to be introduced by the Chinese company in Ethiopia.

Lifan has already sold 60 of the X-60 in the first weeks its been out according to sources within the company.

The X-60 is a sports utility vehicle which is effective on both asphalt and gravel roads, sporting a 1800cc horse power engine designed in cooperation with British Engine manufacturer RICARDO. The external body of the car resembles that of a Toyota RAV 4.

Assela Malt Factory, Ethiopia will inaugurate the 300 million birr expansion project which took 3 years expected to increase the factory’s production potential to 360,000 quintals.  The factory has undergone three expansions since it was first established 28 years with an initial production potential of just 100,000 quintals.

The first expansion effort increased the total production capacity to 150,000 quintals while the first phase of the current expansion increased the capacity to 220,000 quintals.

The second phase, just completed, included the construction of 12 silos, with the potential to hold 10,000-11,000 quintals, making up a total of 28 silos. The addition of elevators and conveyors has increased the carrying capacity every hour to 300-600 quintals.

Pepsi Co, INC. and USAID are collaborating in a 10 million US dollars effort to supply locally manufactured nutritional ready to use Supplementary food products (RUSF) to combat malnourishment in children in Ethiopia.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Agricultural Transformation Agency, Pepsi Co., the WFP and USAID was signed in early May.

The partnership named Enterprise EthioPea is targeted to aid 10,000 farmers in Ethiopia to increase chickpea yields to produce a local based product that can feed 40,000 children.

The Metal Engineering Corporation the Privatization and Public Enterprises Agency of Ethiopia signed an agreement to construct five fertilizer factories at a total cost of 55 billion birr. The agreement was signed by Beyene Gebre-Meskel, Director General of PPESA and Col. Mulu Wolde-Gabriel Project management Deputy Director with Metal Engineering.

The agreement will allow for the construction of five urea and three Dap fertilizer plants and one coal factory said Col. Mulu. The construction will be completed within three years with the Urea factories being launched first and the others to be established according to a schedule said Beyene.