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Owner and chairman of MIDROC Ethiopia, Sheik
Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, last week signed an
agreement at the Sheraton Addis with the Malaysian
Consultancy firm AgriNexus to grow four agricultural
plants on 250,000hct of land in Ethiopia. The
investment, which is hailed as the largest ever by
Abi Woldemeskel, director general of the Ethiopian
Investment Agency, is expected to create job
opportunities for 350,000 people.
At the signing ceremony last Thursday, the Saudi
business tycoon made bold plans for MIDROC in the
coming five years ranging from ventures in mining to
agriculture.
MIDROC Gold, a subsidiary of MIDROC Ethiopia,
currently extracts 300Kg to 350Kg of gold annually
in Shakiso area of the Southern Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS).
The announcement of plans to boost this to 1,200Kg
within two years would mean a 300pc increase.
Ethiopia’s richest man also has planned to establish
a glass factory in a joint venture with a Sudanese
company investing 700 million Br. The input for the
factory is expected to be acquired from Abijata Soda
Ash Factory, which is jointly run by the National
Mining Corporation and Privatisation and Public
Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA).
The factory is expected to produce soda ash pulling
water from Lake Shalla to Lake Abijata, which is
drying up though it is rich with the glass input.
According to the Sheik, the glass factory needs 200
million dollars. Both the glass and soda ash are
partially intended for export.
Ethio Agri Ceft, another of Sheik Mohammed’s
companies popularly known for its tea production is
planning to expand as, according to Mohammed, the
country’s demand for tea has risen and its exports
have shrunk.
“We have brought experts from Australia and
Singapore to boost our tea production threefold,” he
told the ministers and executives of MIDROC.
Elfora Agro Processing, one of MIDROC’s
subsidiaries, has finalised preparations to
cultivate flowers and horticulture on 5,000hct of
land, according to Mohammed. Consequently, a Dutch
expert has come to conduct a feasibility study.
The packing factory that was begun with an
investment of 250 million Br would be finished in
late April. This factory would produce an
astonishing 3,000 cartons per minute, according to
Mohammed.
“Last week we were in Ireland to patch up our
transnational airplanes,” said Mohammed. “The
company that maintains the planes told us it is
interested to open a maintenance company in Africa
and we agreed to work towards establishing it in
Ethiopia.”
In the underperforming textile sector, the Sheik
hopes MAA Garment, found in Mekelle, would finish
its one billion Birr expansion in the coming four
months to join the industry. According to Mohammed,
Ethiopia will no longer need to import textiles if
the expansion of MAA Garment is finalised, a drastic
change from the current trend.
In Raya and Tekeze, in Tigray Regional State, there
he plans to begin large-scale cotton farming to
supply two factories in Woldiya in Wollo for jean
production.
The company’s 240 million Br food processing factory
is hoped to be finalised in the coming six months.
Mohammed also sees room in the milk industry as
rising prices have attracted new entrants, using
Shola Dairy Development Enterprise, which was
acquired by one of MIDROC’s subsidiary companies six
months ago. An expert from New Zealand is conducting
a study on the market. Mohammed told the invitees
that he also wants to see the price of milk now
almost four Birr a litre back to its previous price
of less than 3.50 Br.
Mohammed also sees room to enter the housing market
in Addis Abeba that is inadequate to meet the
demands of the burgeoning population. Bringing an
expert from Michigan in the United States (US),
MIDROC wants to construct real estate for 20,000
people in the coming two years.
In the hospitality sector, the tycoon wants to
finalise constructions of a number of hotels in the
next two years. In addition to the grand hall at the
African Union (AU), Mohammed said he has planned to
install a four-star hotel with 200 bedrooms on the
90,000sqm plot on Bole Road (Africa Avenue) after
demolishing the Millennium Hall. The Sheraton
expansion also needs 37hct of land. Mohammed
expressed his dissatisfaction with the city
administration for not getting the land on time.
“It has been three years since we paid for the plot
but we still have not acquired it,” said Mohammed.
According to the Sheik, this is one of the projects
that are expected to change the look of the city.
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