2merkato

The Kassem Dam project is near to completion according to the Water Works Design and Supervision Enterprise. The project launched at a total cost of 2.5 billion birr is expected to finalize in November.

Eight-five percent of the construction project has already been finalized with the last stage of the project began seven years underway according to Ashnafi Yelekal, Engineer Manager with the Kessem Dam and Irrigation Project.

The dam which is expected to have the potential to retain more than 500 million cubic meters of water that can cultivate more than 20 thousand hectares of land can currently cultivate 1500 hectares of land said Ashnafi.

The Dam construction project is being undertaken by the Water Works Construction Enterprise. The dam is expected to be the biggest dam to be constructed by the enterprise. The project has created job opportunities for the local community.

Source: ENA

The revenue Ethiopia earned from the export of industrial products increased significantly in the last three years according to the Ministry of Trade.

The revenue earned from the export of industrial products in the last financial year was 22.8 higher (255.45 million US dollars) than what had been earned in the previous fiscal period (207.92 million US dollars) according to Melaku Taye, Director of Corporate Communication Directorate with the MoT.

Industrial exports had shown an increase of more than 75% in the previous two financial periods said Melaku.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the Construction and Business Bank and the Development Bank of Ethiopia, all owned and operated by the State, declared 500 million US dollars in profit for the last financial year.

The three banks announced that the profits recorded in the reporting period were 100 million US dollars more than what was recorded in the previous fiscal period.

The profits earned by the Commercial Bank showed an increase of 90% it was noted.

The increase in revenue for the banks was primarily due to factors such as increased exports, mining and agricultural projects and remittance from Ethiopians in the Diaspora according to sources. 

The Southern Regional State of Ethiopia (SNNP) has launched concerted efforts to develop the apiculture sector. The region has set target production for the budget year at 21 thousand tons of honey and 6 tons of wax.

The environment in the Southern region is favorable to apiculture due to the abundance of tree, flower and water resources as well as the climate note Ergete Weldesemayat, Expert of Animal Husbandry.

The regional state is supplying modern beehives manufactured in rural technological centers and by scale manufacturing enterprises to help attain the desired levels of production explained Ergete.

The inflation rate in Ethiopia has declined from 40% to 19% as a result of measures taken by the government to stabilize the market said Prime Minister Hailemariam addressing the House of Representatives yesterday.

The government has subsidized the export of staple food products such as wheat and food oil and has overseen the equitable distribution to stabilize the inflationary pressures.

The government will continue to take steps to stabilize the inflation rates even further to reach single digits by the end of the financial year said Hailemariam. The anticipated bumper agricultural harvest project this fiscal year will also contribute towards overcoming price hikes he added.

The Ethiopian economy is expected to sustain an 11% growth in the current fiscal year according to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn speaking to the Parliament yesterday.

The economy has grown at an average rate of 11% in the last few years and the government expects to maintain the growth rate in the current financial year said Hailemariam.

It is to be remembered that the International Monetary Fund revised its forecast of the growth rate of the Ethiopian economy from 5.5% to 7% last June. The IMF raised its growth forecast due to the slowing rates of inflation.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is planning to increase total deposits to 256 billion at the end of the GTP period.

The bank has adopted several schemes to encourage savings including the ‘Save to Win Prizes’ campaign concluded recently according to Bekalu Zeleke, President of the Bank.

The banks has managed to attain 36 billion birr in deposit through the campaign as part of its aim to reorient the national savings culture he noted.

The Ethiopian Airport Enterprise is prepared to present the proposal for the construction of the new international airport to the government next week according to sources.

The new airport expected to alleviate the pressure on the busy Bole International Airport is to be constructed between Modjo and Meki.

The enterprise has conducted a study on the construction of the new airport for the past two years according to sources. The expansion work on the Bole International Airport drafted in the 90s was expected to accommodate the growth in air traffic until 2017. The airport, however reached maximum capacity in 2010 necessitating the construction of a new international airport.

The Metehara Sugar Factory, Ethiopia has netted more than 500 million birr from the sale of an estimated 930 thousand quintals of sugar and 7.6 million liters of ethanol in the last financial year.

The company has invested in developing its technical capacity and human resources towards enhancing its production levels in the last fiscal period noted Bizuneh Assefa, Manger of the plant.

Efforts undertaken by the factory include a range of upgrades including the refurbishment of older machinery he said.

Faffa Foods SC, Ethiopia introduced two new flavors of one of its latest products, Saba powdered soy milk at an even organized at the Sheraton Addis last week.

The event organized to promote the new product was attended by representatives from American innovator of Soy products, food ingredients and other nutritional products, Solae. The representatives were able to give a presentation on the various products offered by the company.

Saba Soy milk is packaged in Ethiopia with the powdered milk imported from one of the Solae branches in Kenya according to Zeku Ebro, General Manager of Faffa Foods SC.