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Impact International Real Estates, Ethiopia delivered its first group of 50 houses, built on near Lake Tana in Amhara Regional State.

The 50 homes delivered to clients are the first of the 120 home housing project launched by the real estate company in 2006. The company intends to build 400 houses altogether.

The cost of the project is estimated at 450 million birr with construction to be conducted on a 150 thousand meter square plot of land. The design of the project also includes the construction of constructing health facilities, schools, and various entertainment facilities with bungalows, a supermarket and other services. 

The Ethiopian Home and Office Décor Expo, 2011 was dominated by imported goods it was said. The Expo was organized at the Addis Ababa Exhibition Center by the HPP Exhibition Company, Netherlands.

Various furniture companies took part in the exhibition, while products on show were said to be imports from East Asia.

Customers opt for imports because they can’t find what they want locally produced said Meron Hailu General Manager of Dream Furniture. Dream furniture imports furniture from Malaysia where good leather and bamboo products are to be found according to Meron.

An increasing number of people in Ethiopia purchase counterfeit software unintentionally according to the Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft loses an approximate 240 million birr to software piracy annually in Ethiopia.

Piracy adversely affects economic growth in Ethiopia as illegal software cannot create jobs for students, IT professionals or developers according to Eric Odipo, Channel Lead, Microsoft East and Southern Africa. 

India is considering an additional loan of 300 million US dollars to finance Ethiopia’s railway project according to a senior Indian official visiting the country.

India has already agreed to finance 300 million US dollars for the railway project between Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The funding made available for the railway project is part of India’s support for regional integration in Africa said Ambassador Gurjit Singh, Indian Ministry of External Affairs Additional Secretary.

India is to establish a Barefoot Training College, an ICT Center and a Farm Science Center in Ethiopia as part of the pledge to support 80 capacity building institutes in Africa at the Second India-Africa Forum Summit held in Addis Ababa last May.

The new institutions will be in addition to the Vocational Training Center agreed upon at the first India-Africa Forum according to Bhagwant Bishnoi, Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia speaking at the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation and International Students day event held at the Hilton Addis Hotel.