ADB to loan 56 million dollars for Ethio-Djibouti electric line

The African Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of over 56 million US dollars for an Ethio-Djibouti electric line, the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation said Sunday.

It also said work on the installation of electric line between Ethiopia and Sudan was also in progress.

Sendeku Araya, public relations manager with the corporation, told journalists that work on the installation of electric lines between Ethiopia and Djibouti and Ethiopia and Sudan will be completed in the next three years.

ADB has allowed the amount required for the execution of the project following its approval of the feasibility study on the project, he said. Sendeku said the Djiboutian Electric Power Corporation has agreed to cover 25.65 million dollars of the total sum while the balance will be covered by Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation.

The project will enable Ethiopia to sell electric power for the first time, Sendeku said.

The electric line, covering 283 km, will also enable Djibouti to get access to hydroelectric power for the first time, he said.

Only 13 percent of the population in Ethiopia has access to electricity but that would rise to 20 percent by 2012. In Djibouti 49 percent of people have access to electricity, which would increase to 60 percent by 2015. The project includes development of power transmission network, electricity supply to border towns,project supervision and management and institutional support.

Source: Xinhua