2merkato

East African Bottling S.C, Producer of Coca Cola in Ethiopia completed expansion project at its plant located in Dire Dawa, last week, Fortune Reported.

The US$20 million expansion project has enabled the plant to increase its production capacity five times. Currently, the plant have the capacity to fill 36,000 bottled beverages hourly.

Qatar Airways, the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar has launched thrice-weekly flights to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 19, 2013.

"Ethiopia is now becoming an interesting destination for various business opportunities" said Gayatheri Pardeep, senior media relations officer with Qatar Airways.

As increasing number of Ethiopians living and working in Qatar and the Middle East has moved Qatar Airways to launch flight to Ethiopia, Pardeep said.

A civil aviation partnership agreement between Ethiopia and Qatar was signed in April 2013, in Addis Ababa, allowing the two countries to conduct a thrice-weekly flights, upgrading the previous agreement which allowed for two weekly flights each, according to Endeshaw Yigezu, director of Air Transport & Planning Directorate at the Civil Aviation Authority.

Established in 1994, Qatar Airways currently operates 129 aircraft to serve 131 destination around the world.

Source: Fortune

George Shoe Corporation, a Taiwanese company, is planning to establish three shoe manufacturing plants in Ethiopia, Fortune reported.

The Plants which will be constructed in Addis Ababa, Adama and Mojjo towns will cost around US$ 50 million, according to the report.

Hikma, a Jordanian pharmaceuticals company, has formed a joint venture with Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi's MIDROC Group to manufacture, market and distribute pharmaceutical products in Ethiopia, Reuters reported.

The two groups will contribute up to US$22.3 million each to create the joint venture, HikmaCure.