
ADDIS ABABA– The Addis Ababa City Administration and Chinese FHEC signed yesterday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to construct a special economic zone project dubbed ‘Addis Tomorrow’.
“Addis Tomorrow” special economic zone is a huge project to be built in the capital in partnership between the Addis Ababa city administration and China First Highway Engineering Company (CFHEC).
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abiebie stated that the project is one of the instruments that can transform the metropolis into a new chapter. The special economic zone, which is designed with parks and various centers, includes international economic and commercial, educational and cultural, financial and business zones as well as modern housing.
Upon completion, the project will serve as the country’s economic core and a center of technological excellence, and will enhance the city’s international role and create job opportunities for many.
The city is not only where new projects are started; it is an exemplary city where projects are done and completed with quality. Projects that are being carried out will allow the city administration to fulfill its role in a global and continental way.
Due to the lack of a suitable shopping center that best fits with Addis Ababa’s status as Africa’s political capital, the new project will make up for the country’s lost revenue in this sector. The zone will also enable international and continental institutions and diplomats living in the city to find the appropriate shopping center, the mayor remarked.
Laid on 35 hectares of land, the economic zone is one of the unique projects to move Addis Ababa into a new phase.
Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan, who mentioned the two countries long-term strategic cooperation, is optimistic for the new project’s contribution to enhance the appearance of the city, increase its beauty and expand job opportunities.
Ambassador Zhao further said that Addis is a “charming metropolis” and it has been and continues to be the most important city in Ethiopia as well as in Africa. Besides, it has a significant role in the country’s social, political and economic development.
The Ethiopia and Chinese governments studied the project proposal for the last three years with a view to making the project a gateway to Ethiopia and Africa, the ambassador remarked.
The construction will take place in Addis Ababa’s Gotera area, and it has been learned that 15 hectares of the total will be developed in the first phase in the next six years. The entire project is expected to consume some 20 years.
BY ASHENAFI ANIMUT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 22 AUGUST 2023