2merkato

Ethiopia secured more than 57 million Birr in revenue from the export of leather and leather products in the last two quarters according to the Leather Industry Development Institute.

The revenue was secured from the export of various value-added products including clothes, footwear, and leather gloves as well as finished leather and other leather articles said Berhanu Serjebo, Director of Corporate Communication of the Institute.

The institute had targeted to obtain at least 109.2 million Birr from the export of leather products over this period according to Berhanu. Add a comment Add a comment

Etihad Airlines seeks increased access to the Ethiopian market as the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority's invitation for negotiation with its counterpart in the United Nations to realize a Bilateral Air Transport Service Agreement is yet to be answered.
Bilateral agreements are a standard procedure between national aviation agencies as recommended by the International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO) and the Chicago Convention as well as meaning transparent relations said Colonel Wossenyeleh Hunegnaw, Director General of the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority. Add a comment Add a comment

The Chinese China Road and Bridge Corporation is likely to win the 2.6 billion birr project to construct an interchange roundabout system in Addis Ababa to complement the Light Railway Transit.

The Addis Ababa City Roads Authority announced a budget of 2.6 billion birr to construct interchanges and roundabouts as  a part of the Light Railway Transit being launched in the Ethiopian capital. The budget for the roads development is expected to be covered by the federal government and the city administration according to sources.

The roads authority will select a contractor for the construction of the interchanges and roundabouts once it confirms funding it was noted at the time. Add a comment Add a comment

Eleni Gebremadhin, founder and first CEO of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, announced the launch of Eleni LLC a company which specializes in the development of exchange markets in Asia and Africa. The new company is funded with equity contribution from the International Finance Corporation and Morgan Stanley.

The new company to be based in Nairobi was founded by Eleni and two other partners, Jawad Ali and Keith Thomas. Morgan Stanley contributed 5 million US dollars of the 7.5 million founding capital of the company and the IFC covered the rest. Another financier, ‘The 8 Mile Fund' may also invest in the new company soon according to sources. Add a comment Add a comment

Alecto Minerals shares advanced by more than 11% in early deals today as it released some of the findings from its first exploration program on its Wayu Boda gold concession in Ethiopia.

The exploration work comprised of geophysics, trenching, and geological mapping was focused on three areas that had been a focus of artisanal mining in the past. The miner took a total of 853 samples from 14 trenches. The highlight trenching results included intervals ranging from 1.3 meters to 14 meters with grades of 1.1 grams per ton (g/t) to 4.9 g/t.

It is to be remembered that Alecto reported initial sampling results which included grades of up to 47.4 grams per tonne gold last month.

The Ethiopian Roads Authority signed agreements with five contractors to construct and upgrade six road projects estimated at more than 3.2 billion birr.  The roads to be constructed are part of the 4th Road Sector Development Program.

The roads to be constructed will include the Mazoriya-Durame-Durgi-Omo River road, Yalo-Nehile and the alternate Azezo-Gorgora road. It is also expected that the Felegeselam-Ameya-Chida road and the road linking Bonga with Felegeselam will be upgraded to asphalt level. Add a comment Add a comment

The Development Bank of Ethiopia is making available 20 million US dollars from funds acquired from the World Bank for private businesses focusing on renewable energy and energy efficient goods.

The money to be made available is part of the 200 million US dollar loan the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development received from the World Bank last May. The loan was acquired to finance projects in the energy with electricity transmission and distribution getting the lion’s share of the allotment.

The 20 million US dollars made available at this is half of the 40 million US dollars allotted to enhance and encourage private sector investment in renewable energy. The other half will be released on the basis of how well the private sector is able to utilize the 20 million to be disbursed now according to sources. Add a comment Add a comment

Tullow Oil plc, is to announce the results it obtains from the geological test drills launched earlier this month on its Ethiopian concession, in South Omo.

The company anticipates drilling up to a depth of 2,600 meters to test for oil potential, after which it will make the final decision as to whether it will continue drilling or not according to an official with the British oil and gas explorer.

Tullow intends to dig twelve more holes to better estimate the quantity of oil that could be extracted, should it obtain positive results from its initial drilling activity. Add a comment Add a comment

The Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority is to release goods congesting dry ports around the country to importers who provide payment guarantee from their banks to help alleviate congestion.

The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistic Service Enterprise will provisionally cover the demurrage and storage cost estimated at about 400 million birr according to sources.

The authority currently has more than 2 billion birr that it expects to earn from customs tied up in imports stockpiled at the dry ports. The congesting has also been helped by the ELSE’s limited capacity to process the goods and because importers have been unable to meet the financial demands said the sources. Add a comment Add a comment

The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Development denied rumors about wheat scarcity on the local market. The Ministry said that it had distributed 8 million quintals contributing to the decline in the inflation of food items for the month of December.

Rumors that a shortage of wheat could translate into a scarcity of bread on the market in the next 2 weeks are unfounded said the Ministry.

There is currently 2 million quintals of wheat in stock and the government intends to supply a total of 4 million quintals to the market within  the first week of the coming February said Haji Mohammed, Head of Public Relations with MoFED. Add a comment Add a comment