China's EximBank approves $622 mln for Ethiopia projects, says state-affiliated media

China is the biggest bilateral lender to Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation. It has financed massive state infrastructure projects, including factories and a railway from the capital of landlocked Ethiopia to the seaport of Djibouti, but withheld $339 million in credit about two years ago over concerns it would exacerbate Addis Ababa's debt and repayment problems.

The EximBank of China has approved $622 million in credit for 14 construction projects in Ethiopia, including those related to water, roads and a railway, Ethiopia's state-affiliated broadcaster reported on Friday. China is the biggest bilateral lender to Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation.

It has financed massive state infrastructure projects, including factories and a railway from the capital of landlocked Ethiopia to the seaport of Djibouti, but withheld $339 million in credit about two years ago over concerns it would exacerbate Addis Ababa's debt and repayment problems. Last month an Ethiopian delegation led by Finance Minister Ahmed Shide visited China and met officials, representatives of financial institutions and investors.

Projects supported by the credit agreement announced on Friday include the long-delayed Gerbi water project, for supplying drinking water to the capital, the Hawasa expressway and the Dire Dawa-Dewolle railway, Shide told Fana, a state-affiliated broadcaster. Ethiopia requested a debt restructuring under the Group of 20's Common Framework process in early 2021, but progress has been complicated by a brutal two-year civil war that delayed progress with creditors.

The Addis Ababa government and forces of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an agreement in November to cease hostilities, ending fighting that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.