The Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA) has built 255 km of road during the first half of the 2013/14 fiscal year, achieving 54.4% of the total asphalt, gravel and cobblestone roads planned for the fiscal year, Fortune reported.

The Authority has spent 1.8 billion birr in capital budget and 31.4 million birr in regular budget on roads built over the six months of the fiscal year, Fortune reported citing the Authority’s six-month performance report.

With a budget appropriation in excess of 3.83 billion birr, the AACRA takes the largest chunk of the City Administration's budget. ACCRA’s budget for the current fiscal year showed a 155 percent jump compared to the previous year’s budget, according to Fortune.

“In total, the projects have generated employment opportunities for over 90,000 people,” Fekade Haile (Eng.), general manager of the Authority, said during a press briefing on Friday, February 7, 2014.

However, the Authority has also faced some challenges limiting its performance in implementing some projects. Problems relating to right of way issues, delay of designs for some projects, delays in the clearance of electric and telephone lines, as well as the lack of capacity of contractors and engineers are among the problems faced by the Authority, according to the general manager.

Road projects that have been constructed in the reported period include 9.6 kms of gravel road constructed by the authority’s workforce, and a total of 126.7 kms of cobblestone roads were also built, including pavements in condominium sites across the city. The inauguration of 10 major roads is also expected by the end of the fiscal year.

The AACRA is aiming to expand the city's road coverage to 17.3 percent by the fiscal year.

Source: Fortune