Ethiopia to build 4 Agro-Processing industrial Parks

ADISS ABABA, Ethiopia, Capital Markets in Africa — Ethiopia plans to construct four Agro-processing industrial parks at a cost of US$30 billion, construction is scheduled to start in September 2015, according to Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ethiopia. The decision was announced after meeting between  Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, federal, regional government officials.

This is in-line with the country’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), which aimed to transform Ethiopia to an industrialized economy and increase the per capita income of its citizens to middle-income levels by 2025. A policy focused on the development of the manufacturing sector, through the use of Industrial Parks (IP) to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Ethiopia’s state-led development model has delivered rapid and broad-based growth over many years and It has also reduced poverty significantly, while keeping inequality low.  The World Bank Group estimates the Ethiopian economy to grow by 10.2 percent in 2015 and predicated 9.6 percent growth for 2016.