2merkato

The Gorgora Project, which is part of the Dine for Ethiopia initiative, has been launched in the presence of Ethiopia's Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

Ethiopia's Oromia Industrial Parks Development Corporation inked an agreement for the construction of an agro-industrial park resting on 250 hectares of land at a cost of 7.8 billion birr. The industrial park, which is to be built in the town of Nekemte, will be constructed by Walabu Construction Share Company.

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), Ethiopia's largest bank, announced that it has raised loan service charge rates to 9.8 percent, from the previous 8.63 percent.

Ethiopia's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that it has decided to cut down fuel subsidy to 75 percent, subsequently slightly raising fuel prices so users cover the 25 percent. The Ministry has related that the Ethiopian government has spent 24.05 billion birr (over $608.5 million) for oil price subsidy in the last two years alone.

A foundation stone has been laid for the construction of an international airport in the town of Gode, in eastern Ethiopia's Somali region. The new international airport is named "Miraad Leyli International Airport", named after a local martyr.

Efforts will be exerted to enable Mugher Cement Factory to produce cement with full capacity, increasing its production volume and market share, Ethiopia's Minister of Mines and Petroleum Takele Uma remarked.

Ethiopia's sole telecom services provider Ethio Telecom reported that it has collected $650 million (25.6 billion birr) till the end of December, during the half-year of the current fiscal year. This has shown a 12 percent rise in revenue compared to the previous year.

Mohsen Ramez, Managing Director of Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, told Hirtu Zemene, Ethiopia's Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and EU institutions that he "understands the potential" of Ethiopia's market, and Janssen is already in the process of entering the Ethiopian market as it has begun the process of registering four of their medicinal products.

Ethiopia will be self-sufficient in wheat production and will no longer need to import the crop soon, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture announced. This is pursuant to wheat irrigation projects carried out in the Amhara and Oromia regions.

The Ethiopian diaspora has sent $1.4 billion to the country in five months alone, Selamawit Dawit, Director-General of the Ethiopian Diaspora Agency announced.  “We have done a lot of works in terms of promoting legal means and mobilizing legal means for the Diaspora to use it and to have the best possible performance on remittances,” she said.