2merkato

A delegation from the government and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) is scheduled to sign an official and binding agreement with Djibouti tomorrow for the export of electricity.

Ethiopia was exporting electricity to Djibouti on a trial basis for the last four months charging Djibouti 0.70 dollars a kilowatt.

The 65 million dollar project, largely financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), aims to raise access to electricity in Djibouti to 60 percent by 2015 which was 49.5 percent in 2003. 

Gulf General Investment Company, a Dubai-based conglomerate whose net worth is about 3.7 billion dollars and M2K Business Services, a local company, are jointly planning to set up an aluminium extrusion plant at the outskirts of Addis Ababa.

The extrusion plant, which is planned to be constructed at Sululta in the Finfinne Special Zone, is estimated to cost 12 million dollars.

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) said that it had granted permission to companies that run internet-dependant operations to acquire and use VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal).

Some months earlier, the ministry had issued a directive allowing companies which are dependent on the internet and those working in remote areas of the country where there is no access to the internet to use VSATs, Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), minister of MICT, said.

Vale, the Brazilian mining multinational corporations, has secured a 900sqkm gold exploration area in southern Ethiopia.

The exploration area is in Konso, between the Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples regional states.

Vale has agreed to conduct geophysical surveys including air-born geophysics to discover primary gold reserves and base metals such as cobalt, copper, silver and zinc, Gebreigzabher Mekonnen, head of mining operations with the Ministry of Mines, said.  

Alecto Minerals plc, the AIM listed resource company, announced today that it had started exploration programmes on its 1,953 sq km gold exploration licence in a mineral-rich region of Ethiopia.

The company’s key focus has been on advancing its 1,953 sq km gold licence in the Aysid-Metekel region of north western Ethiopia, Damian Conboy, managing director of Alecto, said. 

The Ethiopian Airlines bought yesterday two, new Diamond DA42 Twin Star, twin engine, propeller-driven airplanes manufactured by Diamond Aircraft Industries.

The airplanes, which will be used in training new pilots, were bought for 550,000 euro each.

In addition to the previous ten single engine pilot training aircraft, the two DA42 Twin Star planes will upgrade the performance of the trainees, Beza Tesfaye, fleet planning manager of Ethiopian, said.

The Ministry of Mines said yesterday that regional branches of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Hawassa, Jimma, Mekelle ans Assossa would start buying gold from suppliers as of October 3.

It was reported in mid July that artisan miners produced and supplied about 7,000 kg of gold to the National Bank of Ethiopia in the fiscal year to 7 July 2011. The amount was up by 144 percent from their output of 2,866kg of gold the previous fiscal year according to Sinkinesh Ejigu.

The construction of the Chemoga-Yeda hydropower plant on the outskirts of Debre Markos is lagging behind schedule due to lack of finances.

The 555 million dollar hydropower project was being funded by the Chinese EXIM bank. It was planned to be executed in two stages and to generate 278 megawatt of electricity.

The Chemoga-Yeda River is one of the tributaries of the Nile. Countries downstream of the Nile are concerned about the hydropower project and have been lobbying to the EXIM bank for delay in financing the project, officials of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) said.

The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association said that it was organising an international exhibition of tourism and travel from June 14-18, 2012.

About 80 companies from 21 countries are expected to participate in the exhibition.  

The tourism and travel fair will be organized for the purpose of introducing Ethiopian tourist attractions to the international business community.

Dry Ports Services Enterprise made a 46.1 million birr net profit last fiscal year from dry ports activities like loading and unloading cargoes, and temporary storage for import and export cargoes.

The income was obtained from dry port services to 19,125 containers and 526 vehicles. The enterprise had planned to make 93.10 million birr in gross profit in the last fiscal year but earned an actual profit of 91 million birr.