China hands over Djibouti-Addis-Ababa railway after six years of operation
Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Engineering Corporation have formally handed over management of the Ethiopia-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway to the governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti .
The handover was marked by a ceremony that took place on May 10 at Lebu station, on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, attended by senior government officials from Ethiopia and Djibouti.
The two Chinese companies were responsible for the construction and maintenance of the 752 km electrified line from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, which entered service in January 2018. After six years of management, the Chinese companies decide to deliver
Since then, over 2500 passenger trains have been used, carrying 680,000 passengers. More than 7,700 freight trains also used the railway, carrying a total of 9.5 million tons.
The Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway has reduced the transit time for goods moving between Ethiopia and Djibouti from more than three days to less than 20 hours, reducing transportation costs by at least a third. About 90% of landlocked Ethiopia's imports and exports pass through the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor. If Ethiopia, despite internal and external problems, had a growth of 6% even during Covid, it is precisely thanks to this railway that brought it into the global context.
The railway now employs over 3,000 staff, all local thanks to an extensive training programme. This saw leadership training for 200 mid- and senior-level executives, while a further 100 local executives traveled to China for training.
“The Chinese team is making every effort to promote capacity development,” says Guo Chongfeng, managing director of CCECC's Ethiopian branch.
“A total of 2840 people have been trained and qualified, completing the localization of all railway professions in the field of operations, maintenance and safety management.”
“Six years ago, we embarked on a journey that would connect our two great nations, Ethiopia and Djibouti,” says Abdi Zenebe, CEO of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway (EDR).
The railway replaced a very old colonial-era structure, built before the war with Italy in 1935, built by the French.
“Today, as we celebrate the successful operation and maintenance of this railway, we reflect on the remarkable achievements that have brought us this far.”
Now the problem is the Houthis who, with their attacks, make traffic from Djibouti problematic and expensive, making routes to India and China expensive.
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The article China hands over Djibouti-Addis-Ababa railway after six years of operation comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-consegna-la-ferrovia-gibuti-addis-abeba-dopo-sei-anni-di-gestione/ on Mon, 13 May 2024 20:30:55 +0000.