Antex Groups entered Adama Industrial park by installing machines and equipment in one of the sheds of the park. The Chinese textile manufacturing factory is one of the first companies to enter the industrial park. It imported machinery and equipment worth USD 5 million from China, Japan, and Germany.

Antex Groups aims to manufacture sportswear, underwear, swimwear, and in the future, fashion wear.

In March 2018, the company organized a six-month-long training on garment technology and organizational management. Its owner Qian Anhua said, “There needs to be a highly skilled workforce before production of fashion wear can begin.” Europe, the United States and Australia are the company’s aimed destinations for its products. The owner also said Antex would be able to produce half a billion dollars annually when it started full operation. The company is expected to start fully operating within five years and employ 10,000 employees.

Ethiopia targeted a quarter billion dollars in revenue from textile export products in the last fiscal year but only achieved 109 million dollars. The target for the current year is 240.4 million dollars.

According to Textile Development Industry Institute, the companies’ inability to deliver according to their capacities is attributable to lack of market linkage, recurrent power outages, and input shortages.

China Civil Engineering Construction Company started constructing the Industrial park which sits on 102 hectares at a cost of USD 147.

The park is expected to create jobs for more than 50,000 people once it becomes fully operational. An agreement was concluded between the company and Ethiopian Investment Commission which administers Industrial Parks in September 2017.

Source: Addis Fortune