Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit project (LRT) received a U.S. $ 150,000 loan from the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) after the project was registered as clean and environmentally friendly project. This is in addition to the U.S. $ 20 Million loan Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) applied for at different climate financiers around the world.

Shewangizaw Kifle, Climate Finance Project Manager at ERC, said UNOPS is the first to furnish loan for the LRT.

According to The Reporter, the loan is scheduled to be signed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) and the UN agency.

Shewangizaw noted the loan is going to be made use for transit oriented development projects; supply of water, electricity and internet services for the railway station and the likes. In addition to this, the loan is going to be used for pilot transit oriented development project under LRT.

The Corporation also requested for an additional U.S. $ 100,000 from UNOPS as part of the grand U.S. $ 20 Million facility it is looking for, Shewangizaw added.

According to a research conducted by ERC, Ethiopia’s transport system carbon emission will reach 41 million by 2030. Nonetheless, the country is working to slash this figure to nine million by 2030 using national railway networks and other transit oriented development projects as environmentally friendly undertakings.

According to The Reporter, the UN agency was the first to receive and approve the green financing request. In addition to UNOPS, ERC lodged its financial requests to African Development Bank (AfDB) and climate financiers based in Germany and Britain.

Source: The Reporter