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Representatives made up of from local tanneries and the Leather Industry Development Institute of Ethiopia are expected to travel to South and North Sudan, this week to review conditions for importing raw and semi-processed leather.

The delegation will evaluate the market and other facilities to be found in the two countries as a preliminary study before beginning imports according to sources at the Institute.  

The representatives will visit South Sudan first and go on to North Sudan said experts at LIDI.

Ethiopia expects to earn an estimated one billon US dollars from the export of textile goods by the end of the five year development plant according to Sileshi Lemma, Director General of the Textile Industry Development Institute.

All stakeholders in the textile sector including investors and the government have been exerting efforts to encourage the increase in export of textile goods explained Sileshi at a one day symposium held at the Addis Ababa Exhibition Center under the theme of 'Textile Industry and Its Prospects in Ethiopia'.

The expansion work being done on Finchaa Sugar Factory, Ethiopia at an estimated cost of 500 million birr is expected to be finalized this fiscal year.

The expansion project is 86% complete with 80% of the canals and side roads and 30% of the road network completed according to Kumelachew Abebe, Communications and Public Relations Process Owner with the Ethiopian Water Works Construction Enterprise.

Tikur Abay Shoes Share Company commenced trial production of ‘safety shoes’ designed for industrial wear as of last month.

The manufacturer installed new machinery from German Company, DESMA at a cost of 1.1 million US dollars.

Tikur Abay had floated the international bid for the supply of the machinery required to the manufacture the safety shoes in 2009.

Artmetal is expanding into the production of machine tools and local ferric finished products to fill a perceived need in the market in Ethiopia according to Seid Hassen, General Manager of Artmetal parent company, Wide Business plc.

Artmetal was previously engaged in just the import of iron which costs much less than importing finished machine tools he said.

The Artmetal Supply and Ferric Processing and Engineering Factory in Alem Gena was expanded at a cost of 18 million birr to increase its production capacity to 600 cubic meters of ferric products monthly.