ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has earned more than 47 million U.S. dollars in export value from public and private industrial parks during the first quarter of the Ethiopian fiscal year that started on July 8, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) disclosed on Thursday.
The East African country has generated the reported about 47.4 million U.S. dollars in exports from nine public and private industrial parks that are operational across the country during the first quarter of the Ethiopian 2019-2020 fiscal year that started on July 8, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) quoted Neway Tedla, Planning and Evaluation Director at the EIC, as saying on Thursday.
Figures from the Ethiopian Investment Commission also show that the stated amount of export earning has accounted for 71 percent of the initial target.
The 47.4 million U.S. dollars quarterly exports revenue is also said to have an 88 percent increase as compared to the same period of the previous Ethiopia fiscal year, according to Tedla.
The EIC had previously disclosed that the East African country had earned about 142 million U.S. dollars in export value during the Ethiopian 2018-2019 fiscal year that ended on July 7, 2019.
According to Hana Arayaselassie, Deputy EIC Commissioner, the construction and commissioning of the Chinese built Ethiopia-Djibouti electrified rail line in January 2018 has contributed to boosting landlocked Ethiopia's export ambitions, by transporting speedily and efficiently cargo from industrial parks in mainland Ethiopia to ports in Djibouti.
Ethiopia is constructing or has commissioned around 12 industrial parks across the country, part of a broad economic strategy to make the country a light manufacturing hub in Africa by 2025.
Nine of the industrial parks are located in close proximity to the 756-kms Ethiopia-Djibouti electrified rail line, which since being commissioned in January 2018 has been hailed for boosting landlocked Ethiopia's foreign trade.
Contracted by two Chinese companies, the first 320 km of the rail project from Sebeta to Mieso was carried out by the China Rail Engineering Corporation, while the remaining 436 km from Mieso to Djibouti port section was built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
With Ethiopia attracting large-scale investment in the export-oriented manufacturing sector, especially from Chinese firms, the country sees improving the efficiency and speed of the logistics sector as key to meeting national manufacturing revenue goals in the export sector.
