The Ethiopian Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency is planning to privatize 20 publicly owned enterprises in this fiscal year.
The agency is expecting to earn an estimated 3.3 billion birr from the privatization of the enterprises which are currently being owned by the state according to Wondafrash Assefa, Corporate Communications Director with PPESA.
PPESA earned almost 6.2 billion birr from the privatization of state owned property in the previous financial year said Wondafrash. The sale of Meta Abo factory to international beverage company Diageo contributed about three billion birr to the total revenue earned he added.
Out of the 20 enterprises planned to be privatized this year 17 are expected to be transferred through direct sale mechanism while the other three are designed to be joint private-public ventures noted Wondafrash.The enterprises up for privatization Commercial Printing Enterprise, Artistic Printing Enterprise, Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise, Adola Gold Mine Enterprise, Awash Winery SC, Bilito Farm, Coffee Technology Development Engineering Enterprise, Hamaressa Edible Oil SC, Arba Gugu Coffee Farm, Ethiopian Mineral Development SC and Ghion Hotel.
Some of the enterprises including Ghion Hotel, Commercial Printing Press and Awash Winery had been put up for bid before but successful deals had not materialized.
It is to be remembered that PPESA earned 2 billion birr gross from the operation of the state enterprises it manages meeting 76% of its target budget in the previous financial year.
Source: Walta Info
