Eighty-three out of 182 of technical experts and employees of Shenzhen Metro have just arrived back home after spending one year in Ethiopia.
According to Chinese officials, the group was there to aid in the construction of a USD475 million light-rail network, the first international transportation project conducted by a Chinese railway company.
The rail service launched in September last year and has serviced more than 30 million commuters. According to Bloomberg, the urban rail’s north-south line runs from the capital city’s (Addis Ababa) “main industrial area,” through the “trading district of Merkato,” to the “historic centre of Piazza.”
Another line, running from east to west, connects the African Union’s headquarters and the central government district to “modern housing developments.”
Train operations will be run and maintained by Shenzhen Metro Group and China Railway Group Limited for five years. The remaining experts and staff will return to China separately as two groups in 2018 when the project is fully completed.
Ethiopia considers itself a “target country” for Chinese investors to launch overseas manufacturing operations. The China-funded railway construction reportedly contributes to Ethiopia’s economic growth, yet despite an economic slowdown in China, the Ethiopian officials “expect even more foreign direct investment flow from China.”
The relationship between the two countries is based on much more than investment. Sarah Baynton-Glen, Africa economist at Standard Chartered told the Financial Times: “A large part of involvement by China in Ethiopia is through project contracts – largely infrastructure projects.”
[Image via The Guardian]
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