The world’s
largest aircraft ever, the European Airbus A380, will be landing at
the Addis Abeba’s Bole international airport, making Ethiopia the
first African sky to witness what is often described as “super
jumbo” aircraft. It will arrive in mid October 2006, to have a test
flight for about a week, reliable sources told Fortune.
A380-800 is the
largest commercial aircraft the world has seen so far; with its
double-deck, it is designed to carry 555 passengers at a time in a
three-class configuration. This number can, however, increase to 853
passengers should an airline decide to configure the flight fully in
economy.
Addis Abeba and
its Bole International Airport were chosen as the test site for the
local altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level, a flight and landing
circumstance not available in previous test locations.
In one of the
more substantial insurance claims stemming out of the devastating
rainfalls of the just completed rainy season, Summit Agro Plc, which
has 24ht flower farm located in the Wonji area in the Eastern Shoa
zone of the Oromia Regional State, requested 1.5 million dollars in
insurance claims for water destruction caused by an overflow from
the Koka Dam in August 2006.
In parallel news,
according to official and company sources, the Oromia Investment
Commission has given Summit 30ht free from lease to help the company
as it recuperates from the effects of the dam overflow.
“We want to
encourage Summit to get back into business as soon as possible,”
said a Commission official.
The Tikur Abay
Shoe S.C that had been vainly put up for auction by the
Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA)
numerous times, has finally been sold for 30.4 million Br to Kebire
Enterprise, one of the companies owned by Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi.
PPESA had put
the Shoe Factory on auction more than four times and had failed to
make a sale on each occasion.
In July 2006,
the Agency put Anbessa Shoe Factory, Addis Abeba Tannery, Kombolcha
Textile Factory, Edget Yarn and Sewing Thread Factory, Ethiopian
Fiber Products Factory, DebreBirhan Blanket Factory and Tikur Abay
up for auction.
S. African University Wants More
Space at Central Bank Academy
The University of
South Africa (UNISA) has requested that it be given additional space
for classrooms and a library at the Ethiopian Academy of Financial
Studies (EAFS) located in the Akaki area, 20km east of Addis Abeba,
six months after the Prime Minister ordered office space to be given
to the University for free.
The five-member
UNISA delegation, led by Professor Hendrik Louw, visited Addis Abeba
for four days after their arrival on Monday, October 2, 2006, during
which time they discussed their request; an agreement was still not
reached by the end of the meetings between the University and the
owner of the EAFS, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE).
Deadline to Complete
Addis - Jimma Road to be Missed
The 335Km road
from Addis Abeba to Jimma that the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA)
contracted to DRAGADOS J&P, a Spanish and Greek joint venture, and
which will cost 700 million Br to construct, will not be delivered a
month from now as was previously planned, sources from ERA
disclosed.
The contract of
building an asphalt road from Addis Abeba to the coffee producing
area of Jimma was given to DRAGADOS in October 1999 with the
agreement that it would finish building and commission the road by
December 2006.
Due to the
Ethiopia Tannery Share Company outsourcing its management to
Pittards, a British leather company, and the launch of finished and
crust leather products being produced at its factory, the company
has lost its European market and is now looking and moving towards
the Far East.
In August 2005,
Ethiopia Tannery management was handed over to Pittards, a company
based in Yeovil, UK where it was founded in 1826. The Company
produces high-end technical leathers for sale to manufacturers and
distributors of shoes, gloves, luxury leather goods and sports
equipment and is centre for research and development for the
production of leathers globally.
The deadline set
by the Federal Transport Authority (FTA) for handing out import
permits in accordance to the controversial directive that it issued
two months ago on the importation of fuel trucks into the country
has been delayed by one week with no signs of permits being issued
in the immediate future.
The ban that was
put in place by the government for the past two years was lifted
after a study done by the FTA concluded that there was a shortage of
fuel trucks in the country resulting in the need of 362 fuel trucks.
As a result, since August 7, 2006, the Authority has been
registering parties interested in importing fuel trucks.
The growing floriculture export and transport business is in a tug
of war between two transport facilitators.
A price war was
sparked between Ethio Horti Share Company and Sher Ethiopia Plc
after an email message was sent by Sher to 77 growers announcing new
cargo services to Europe. The email said that the company would
begin leasing an airplane to transport flowers and vegetables to
Luik, Belgium starting October 5, 2006.
Flour mills from
all over the country have requested that the Federal Inland Revenue
Authority review a tax bill of over 135 million Br in Value Added
Tax (VAT) inclusive of a penalty fee, not paid by the mills over the
past two years.
Although the
flour mills have argued that they are indeed paying VAT from their
sales, FIRA has ascertained that payments were not made since 2004.
The complaint
made by over 60 flour mills is being evaluated by a seven-member Tax
Review Committee led by Belachew Beyene, head of Tax Investigation
Department at FIRA.
Financing Secured, Sugar Project Seeks Construction Co.
EXIM, an Indian
Bank, has offered to loan 351 million dollars to co-finance the
Tendaho Sugar Development Project, which will soon be issuing a
tender inviting construction companies to participate in building
its factory, in the Afar Regional State, 576Km northeast of Addis
Abeba.
The Ministry of
Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) has been negotiating with
the bank through the Indian Embassy to secure the amount required in
foreign currency.
Septic tanks adjoined to buildings constructed for military hostels
have spilled into five classrooms at the former Teferi Makonnen
School, located on Algeria road, on the way from Sidist Kilo
to Shiro Meda.
The contents of
the septic tanks that overflowed into the Entoto Technical and
Vocational Education and Training College (ETVET), seeped into five
classrooms, forcing the School to close them indefinitely. In
addition, three nearby classes were closed because of the horrible
stench coming from the flooded rooms.
Although the
odour from overflowing septic tanks started drifting into the
classrooms in January 2006, the flood into the school, which
occurred through holes in the wall made by the spill, did not take
place until school started last month.
The inter-clan conflict in Somalia has been a cause of concern
lately, with the emergence of a militant group that is now Supreme
Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) and put a military challenge to
the Transitional Federal government (TFG) that is now limited in
Badoa. Controlling the capital Mogadishu and much of the southern
parts of Somalia, the group counts much of its international support
from Eritrea, Egypt and Libya, if not Saudi Arabia's wealthy
supporters of the expansion of Wahabism, according to this writer
known as Antony Shaw, a pseudo-name but with an authoritative
analysis of events in Ethiopia and the surrounding countries.
Seyoum Bereded, 41, came to
the public scene shortly after Seyoum Mesfin, minister of Foreign Affairs,
appointed him to lead a secretariat in charge of the Ethiopian Millennium
celebration. It will comprise a series of events beginning on September 10,
2007.
Seyoum heads a secretariat
of four people: Abebe Balcha, Mulugeta Asrate Kassa and Yohannes G. Sellasie.
This group reports to an executive committee chaired by Minister Seyoum, who
last week invited about 120 people to constitute the National Millennium
Council, an entity whose creation was officially approved by the Council of
Ministers last year.
For a regular
customer of Behil Restaurant, one of the three such businesses
adjacent to Ras Hotel on Gambia Street, the recent change on the
menu is obvious not on the cover or design of the book sized
brown-leather menu, but in the food prices inside.
Out of the
three pages of food, one can observe that previous prices on six
food types have been cancelled out with a red marker with new prices
written over them. However, the price increase has not affected the
cost of Tibs Firfir and Sega Firfir. The increase is
mostly seen in the menu’s eggs category and Italian specialities.
On Thursday
September 28, 2006, another Ethiopian film premiered at Alem Cinema
located on Africa Avenue.
Directed by
Yared GebreSilassie, Zema Hiwot, (“Musical Life”) is a two
hour romantic tragedy based on the story of a young Ethiopian woman
who faces challenge after challenge despite the kindness of her
heart.
The tale begins
in South Africa where the heroine, Helina, played by Messeret
Mebrate, lives in a life of drug trafficking with a man she loves.
She leaves her life of crime and comes to Addis Abeba to become an
accomplished singer. But Helina is still not satisfied with her life
and she ventures into a realm that she feels passionately for, but
that brings her conflict.
Proving that the cement shortage suffered in Ethiopia these days is
of paramount importance to the smooth stewardship of the country,
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi expressed hope that Derba-MIDROC's
highly anticipated import of 1.5 million tonnes of cement would soon
be hitting the market.He was speaking to local journalists and
international correspondents in a press conference marking the
conclusion of the recent EPRDF Party Congress.
