Ethiopia is to sign an agreement, in November, to ship and unload coal through Port Djibouti. The agreement to be signed next month with Djibouti allows Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (EPE) to import coal to be used for fuel in cement factories.
Ethiopia and Djibouti have agreed on the general terms of the deal and the process of drafting the contract is underway said Mekonnen Abera, head of market research and business promotion for Ethiopian Shipping and Transit Services Enterprise.
Mekonnen traveled to Djibouti with Yigzaw Mekonnen director general of EPE to establish the terms of the agreement.
It was reported in mid-August that the Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (EPE) was going to import coal from South Africa to secure sustainable supply of coal as an alternative source of energy for cement factories.The move came following the unsuccessful bid by the Ethiopian government to acquire pet coke for cement factories.
All 12 cement factories have the infrastructure for using coal while Mugher and East are expected to finish installing infrastructure to use coal power sources by 2013.
A task force comprising representatives from the MoI, ESL, MTSE and five major cement factories has been considering the import of coal in relation to available supplies in countries within close proximity and advantageous pricing. Considering proximity and cost effective prices, South Africa was chosen as a supplier to Ethiopia.
The factories require about 694 million tonnes of coal over the coming four years. Over the next twelve months the factories demand 896,500 tonnes of coal.
Source: Addis Fortune
