The Japanese Toyota Tsusho Corporation has expressed interest in the financing and construction of the pipeline extending 
from Juba to Port Djibouti through Ethiopia.
The Japanese company is interested in undertaking the project expected to be launched in the second quarter of the coming year according to sources in the Japanese Embassy here in Ethiopia.
Toyota is the second company, next to an anonymous US company to express an interest in financing the infrastructural project tentatively expected to cost 3 billion US dollar.
It is to be remembered that a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the project was signed between Southern Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia earlier this year.The agreement establishes the construction a pipeline, a railway system and fiber optics cable line to stretch between Juba and Djibouti via Ethiopia.
The next stage of the pipeline project was approved by high level representatives from the three countries just last month.
It is expected that a detailed feasibility study will be completed in the coming few months and the construction will begin within six months. The initial study had estimated that the construction of the pipeline will be completed within 36 months for 3 billion US dollars.
Source: Capital
