Ethiopia-Djibouti built 756 km-stretching electrified rail enhances economic trade

The railway that links landlocked Addis Ababa with ports in Djibouti has achieved severe positive praises for its contribution to the transportation of people and goods between the two countries.

Since its operation almost two years ago, the Ethiopia-Djibouti electrified rail line has transported tens of thousands of people, providing passengers with an affordable, safe and environmentally friendly transport services.

The Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, Tan Jian has elaborated the vital role the rail line has played in enhancing landlocked Ethiopia's foreign trade that has an estimated population of 105 million people, making it the largest populous landlocked nation over the planet.

"This railway is very important to Ethiopia and Djibouti. Why, because Ethiopia is a landlocked country and 95 percent of Ethiopia's import and export trade goes through Djibouti. This railway is related to industrialization, urbanization and development with nine Ethiopian industrial parks out of 15 being located along the rail line. So, this is not just a line, this is a corridor and we do believe this corridor can be a game-changer for economic development," Tan Jian added.

Dire Dawa and Adama industrial parks, located 446 km and 99 km East of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, built by China Civil Engineering Construction Company have utilized the services of Ethiopia-Djibouti rail line for their import-export trade.

Tan Jian while clarifying on the importance of railway infrastructure that has played in China's rapid economic development said the same is possible for Ethiopia-Djibouti rail line. The electrified rail line has already cut transportation time needed for goods to reach Djibouti port from the Ethiopian hinterland from at least two days to 10 hours, Xinhua noted. His optimism on the Ethiopia-Djibouti rail line is shared by Tilahun Sarka, Director General of the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company.

"We started this operation in January 2018 and now we came across one and half years. The first-year operation was promising managing to move some 800 trains earning revenue of 35 million U.S. dollars," he further added. He also added that Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company is working to make the Ethiopia-Djibouti rail line, mainly the Addis Ababa starting section more accessible, so it can operate at full capacity in the future.

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