Ethiopia: Egyptian Firm to Build Parts of Addis to Mombassa Road

all africa, April 05, 2011

The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) awarded two parts of the construction of the second phase of the Mombassa Nairobi- Addis Abeba Road corridor to an Egyptian based construction company, at a cost of around 740.7 million Br, on Wednesday March 29, 2011

The ERA also signed comprehensive road project agreements worth a total of 2.6 billion Br with four local companies for the construction of 242.8km of roads in Tigray and Amhara regional states.

The Hagere Mariam-Mega asphalt road rehabilitation and 94.5km Hagere Mariam-Yabelo concrete pavement construction projects, both in Oromia Regional State, were awarded to Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co). Both form part of the Mombassa-Nairobi-Addis Abeba corridor, an important part of the

Trans-African Highway

between Cairo and Cape Town.

"This is the first time an Egyptian company has signed an agreement for road construction in Ethiopia," said Zayed Woldegebriel, director general of the ERA, at the signing of the contract with Ahmed Mustafa, general manager of the branch Arab Contactors opened in Ethiopia around 14 months ago.

"This is a particularly significant road project, and we expect the company to contribute value-added technology."

Arab Contactors, which has around 20 branches around the world, most of which are located in Africa, generally engages in the construction of roads, bridges, buildings, as well as water and sewerage systems.

"We thank our brothers in Ethiopia for awarding us a road project for the first time," said Mustafa.

The two projects, which are funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) with the federal government, form part of the second phase of an ongoing road project that involves the construction and tarring of 438km of the Mombassa-Nairobi-Addis Abeba Road corridor, which includes the 245km Merille River-Marsabit-Turbi Road in Kenya.

The road is expected to reduce the average transport costs per vehicle from Isiolo to Merille towns from 0.49 to 0.28 dollar cents per kilometre, according to a report by Roadtraffic-technology, a website dedicated to road projects worldwide.

The first phase, which started in 2009 and was completed last year, was to set down a road linking Addis Abeba with Nairobi.

The aim of the project is to boost trade between the two countries and to develop an alternative gateway for Ethiopia's exports and imports by connecting the country with Mombassa Port in Kenya, according to Zayed.

It will also connect the coffee growing areas of southern Ethiopia with Hawassa Town, the capital of Southern Regional State, the head of the authority claimed.

Southern coffee growers will greatly benefit from the new roads, which will improve on existing gravel roads, since they incur additional costs and delays in reaching the central market in the capital, especially during the rainy season, according to Dansamo Dangamo, head of administration and finance at the Sidama Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union (SCFCU).

"The central market is the main point of sale for the 5,000tn of washed coffee from 46 farmers' cooperatives which we earmark for export annually," Dansamo told Fortune.

The road projects to be constructed by local companies form part of the Mekelle-Abiata-Adwa corridor.

The largest project, the construction of the 57.8km Buhayet-Del yebza Road in Amhara Regional State, will be implemented by SATCON Construction plc a local company, at a cost of around 948 million Br in an estimated period of three years.

This part of the project is the most expensive, although the route is relatively short compared to other projects, because it snakes through rugged terrain and high mountains that includes Ras Dashen Mountain, the highest in Ethiopia at 4,620 metres above sea level, according to Zayed.

Akir Construction Plc was awarded the 65km Debark-Buhayet Road project, which is expected to connect three weredas in Amhara Regional State and facilitate trade, at a cost of 699.5 million Br.

The 60km Mekelle-Siret concrete asphalt road upgrading in Tigray Regional State was awarded to Defence Construction Enterprise with consultancy work to be done by Net Consulting Advisory Engineers & Architects Plc at a total cost of 482.7 million Br. The roads are to be 14 metres wide in urban areas and 12 metres wide in rural areas.

Sur Construction Co was awarded the 60km section of the Siret-Mender-Werey corridor in Tigray Regional State at a cost of 460.3 million Br. The consultancy role was awarded to Pan African Consultants Co and Yidedia Engineering Co.

Source: Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)