India is considering an additional loan of 300 million US dollars to finance Ethiopia’s railway project according to a senior Indian official visiting the country.
India has already agreed to finance 300 million US dollars for the railway project between Ethiopia and Djibouti.
The funding made available for the railway project is part of India’s support for regional integration in Africa said Ambassador Gurjit Singh, Indian Ministry of External Affairs Additional Secretary.
The venture is the first time that India is undertaking the financing of a project covering more than on country which is why the nation is studying the process carefully explained Singh.The disbursement of the original 300 million US dollars loan will depend on the feasibility study which will clarify the implementation and allow for periodic disbursements of the money he noted.
The project will be implemented in a collaboration of the Djiboutian and Ethiopian railway corporations said Singh.
India has committed to the project to the best of its ability depending on technical discussions leading to practical implementation he added.
Ethiopia is the largest African recipient of credit from India with more than 700 million US dollars financed in loans for expanding sugar production capacity and rural electrification said Singh.
In related news the second India-Ethiopia foreign Office consultations were held last week in Addis Ababa.
The discussions covered the implementation of decisions reached by the India-Africa Forum Summits and the establishment of institutions for capacity building in Ethiopian including a farm science center, vocational training center, women’s solar engineering vocational training center and an IT center.
Source: Capital
