The European Union concluded a US$287.26 million development grant agreement with the Ethiopian government on Monday November 25, 2013, Reuters reported.

The grant will be used to finance road construction and projects focusing on maternal health and drought resilience.

"Expanding and upgrading ... (the) road network is playing a central role in the country's economic development - notably in improving access for the rural population to markets and basic service," Andris Piebalgs, the EU's Commissioner for Development, said during the signing ceremony.

The grant agreement appropriates 49 million euros for road projects, 50 million euros drought resilience in Ethiopia's arid south and east, and another 40.4 million euros to improve maternal health, according to Reuters.

Ethiopia is the middle of its Growth and Transformation Plan, a five-year economic development program that envisages to triple the country's road network and launching of construction on 5,000 km of new railway lines.

Source: Reuters