2merkato

Reykjavik Geothermal, the Icelandic geothermal development company has agreed to develop as much as 1,000 megawatts of geothermal projects in Ethiopia over the next 10 years, according to Bloomberg.

Reykjavik expects to start drilling test wells next year, Chairman Michael Philipp told Bloomberg in an interview on September 27, in New York.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Industry announced its earning target from export of industrial products during the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year. 

The Ministry unveiled its target of earning US$1.3 billion from the sector at a press briefing on the performance of the last Ethiopian Fiscal Year and action plan for the current fiscal year.

Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise, the state-owned shipping and logistics company receieved- the Jigjiga, the seventh vessele of the nine new vessels it ordered, at the Port of Djibouti in the presence of senior governmet officials last week.

Officials at the enterprise have also indicated that the remaining two vessels will not arrive in Djibouti until October.

Ethiopia and Poland concluded a cooperation framework agreement to boost existing bilateral relation between the two countries.

Ethiopian Foreign Affairs State Minister, Berhane Gebrekristos and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Beata Stelmach signed the agreement to further bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Poland in economic, political and social sectors on Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Techno Brain, custom software application development company, signed agreement with the Ethiopian Transport Authority to digitize the issuance of driving license. The new system will include bio-metric features which will make forgery difficult.

Issuance of driving license has been a problem for the Authority due to concerns of forgery and duplication, Zelalem Worku, pre-sales consultant with Techno Brain, said told journalists during a press briefing event.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Mines has finalized a draft mineral exploration licensing directive, The Reporter reported.

Following a year long suspension of issuance of explorations license, the Ministry started accepting exploration applications in March 2013, however, it has not yet started granting exploration license, according to The Reporter.

Ethiopia's Zemen Bank announced floating of shares worth 100 million Ethiopian birr to increase its capital, Capital reported.

Ermias Eshetu, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Services of Zemen Bank, told Capital that it is initially offering the purchase of the shares to its existing shareholders numbering around 3,000 and any remaining shares will be available to the public.

May Flower, an Indian mining company is to invest US$ 116 million in the Delbi coal mine located in South Western Ethiopia, The Reporter reported.

Alemayehu Deressa, general manager of Delbi Cola Mining S.C., told The Reporter, his company has been looking for strategic partnership to jointly develop the coal mine.

East African Bottling S.C, Producer of Coca Cola in Ethiopia completed expansion project at its plant located in Dire Dawa, last week, Fortune Reported.

The US$20 million expansion project has enabled the plant to increase its production capacity five times. Currently, the plant have the capacity to fill 36,000 bottled beverages hourly.

Qatar Airways, the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar has launched thrice-weekly flights to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 19, 2013.

"Ethiopia is now becoming an interesting destination for various business opportunities" said Gayatheri Pardeep, senior media relations officer with Qatar Airways.

As increasing number of Ethiopians living and working in Qatar and the Middle East has moved Qatar Airways to launch flight to Ethiopia, Pardeep said.

A civil aviation partnership agreement between Ethiopia and Qatar was signed in April 2013, in Addis Ababa, allowing the two countries to conduct a thrice-weekly flights, upgrading the previous agreement which allowed for two weekly flights each, according to Endeshaw Yigezu, director of Air Transport & Planning Directorate at the Civil Aviation Authority.

Established in 1994, Qatar Airways currently operates 129 aircraft to serve 131 destination around the world.

Source: Fortune