Ethiopia’s government is to increase spending by 20% in the coming fiscal year to expand infrastructure, according to State Finance Minister Abraham Tekeste.

Spending will increase to 223.4 billion Birr ($11 billion), with more than half of the 84.3 billion Birr set aside for capital expenditure to be spent on roads and higher education, Abraham said on an interview on June 18, 2015, in Addis Ababa. Moreover, the country will also extend 12 billion Birr to regional states to support business development and 3 billion birr for manufacturing parks.

“These are critical for sustaining the rapid economic growth registered over the last decade,” Abraham said.

International Monetary Fund forecasts Ethiopia’s growth to exceed an annual rate of 8 percent in the coming two years.

Source: Bloomberg