2merkato

The Addis Ababa City administration received a loan of 4.4 billion birr from the commercial Bank of Ethiopia for its housing development project. The money is earmarked for the construction of more than 40,000 condominiums this year.

The loan agreement was signed between the bank and the housing development project office on Sept 27. The loan from the commercial bank needs to be paid off in the fourth year after the agreement was signed with six per cent interest, according to Befekadu. The agreement allows the first year for construction and extends a further two years as a grace period he said.

The Southern Regional State will supply an estimated 171,000 tonnes of coffee to the central market this year according to the State Marketing and Cooperatives Bureau.  

This amount is more than that of the same period in the last fiscal year said Abraham Demissie Deputy Head of the State Bureau speaking at a workshop held in Hawassa. The revenue obtained exceeded that of the previous year by 122.5 million birr he said.

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.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has drafted a new bill that authorizes the establishment of legal firms for the first time. The draft bill allows the establishment of law firms offering advocacy services as ‘Ordinary Partnerships’.

The new bill will prohibit members of a law firm from membership in multiple legal firms and from providing private advocacy services.