Ethiopia plans $720 million for roads in 2009

By Tsegaye Tadesse

20 February, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has set aside 8 billion birr to construct new roads and upgrade dilapidated ones in 2009, a government official said on Friday.

The Horn of Africa country has spent $3.6 billion over the past decade to build 101,359 kms (62,940 miles) asphalt and gravel roads, Samson Wondimu, public relations head of the Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA), told Reuters.

The nation's roads have suffered decades of neglect but the government has said the network's expansion is a top priority. Crumbling or overloaded infrastructure is seen as an obstacle to economic development in many African countries.

"Recognising the importance of road transport in supporting social and economic growth and in meeting poverty alleviation, the government has placed increased emphasis on improving the quality and size of road infrastructure," Samson said.

"The development of the country's road network was given top priority as a core component of the country's economic progress," he said.

Nigeria and Ethiopia -- the two most populous nations in sub-Saharan Africa -- topped a new index of African potential investor destinations published this week.

The Horn of Africa nation, which had been cited as an appealing private equity destination before the global slowdown, was seen as attractive because of its potential for water and electricity service expansion.

Major roads are being resurfaced or upgraded and a network of local feeder roads are also under construction, Samson said, adding that all major agricultural production areas and tourist attractions were now connected.

"The average distance from a road has been reduced from 21 kms in 1997 to 12.8 kms in 2008," Samson said.

Ethiopia used heavy machinery to shatter the impregnable natural stone walls and canyons that form a fortress into northern Ethiopia where the historic regions of Axum, Lallibela and Gondar are to be found, he said.

Highways linking the capital Addis Ababa with neighbouring Djibouti's Red Sea port, and those connecting regions producing the country's major export crop of coffee, were now "in superb condition", he said.

Just over a third of the $3.6 billion spent was provided by the International Development Agency, the European Union and Japan, while the state paid the rest.

Samson said Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie's regime inherited only 6,400 kms of road following the fall of an Italian Fascist occupation of the country. A military regime that overthrew Haile improved the network to 18,000 kms.

Ethiopia has a national carrier that is reputed to be one of the largest and fastest growing in Africa. The country also has a 850 km railroad linking it with Djibouti's port and is used to ferrying bulk cargo.