The African Development Bank gave a 234.5 million us dollar loan for the construction of roads in Ethiopia, linking the country to South Sudan and Kenya. The Bank made the loan to encourage trade relationships between Ethiopia and its neighbors.

The loan agreement was signed by Ahmed Shide, State Minister with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and Lamin G. Barrow the Resident Representative of the the African Development Bank.

The two roads to be financed by the African Bank are the Bedele-Metu road and the upgrade and construction on the Hawassa-Ageremariam road.

The Bank made 64 million US dollars available for the construction of the Bedele-Metu road and 168 million US dollars for the upgrade and construction work on the Hawassa-Ageremariam project.

The Addis Ababa-Nairobi-Mombassa Road, which includes the Hawassa-Agremariam stretch, will give Ethiopia access to Port Mombassa which will prove an easier access to Southern Africa then Port Djibouti, according to Abdu Mohammed, Deputy Director General with the Ethiopian Roads Authority.

The link is also expected to enhance trade between Ethiopia and Kenya which has remained due to poor infrastructure.
The African Bank will make a similar loan agreement with the Kenyan government for the construction of the final section of the road on the Kenyan side noted Barrow.

The current loan agreement with the African Bank brings the total of road projects in Ethiopia by the bank to 500 kilometers.

Source: Addis Fortune