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Ayr Logistic Limited
Inc, a Texas, United States (US)-based company, is
to invest 700 million Br in Ethiopia in a joint
venture with local investors in the flower, hotel,
railway and energy sectors. In the past six months,
Ayr has established two flower producing companies
and another company, which will construct a
five-star hotel with Ethiopian investors.
A
project proposal the company submitted to the
Ethiopian Investment Commission shows that Ayr is to
invest jointly with interested local investors.
Having been granted a license from the commission
two weeks ago, Ayr established a flower farm,
Ayr-Nuze, in Debre Zeit (Bishoftu) with an
Ethiopian Investor, Addisu Nurbeja, with capital of
over 100 million Br. Moreover, another company,
Blossom Plc, which will also engage in flower
farming has been established with 300 million Br
capital, 34pc share being possessed by Lemma
Habtegiorgis, Board chairman of NIB Bank SC; 11pc by
Nabih Badawi, Middle East agent of Ayr; and the
balance being owned by Ayr.
The Oromia Investment Commission has allocated
128.7hct farmland in Woliso town, 116Km west of
Addis Abeba, to Blossom, though it has not yet taken
over the land.
“We will secure the land this week, paying the lease
amount,” Lemma, agent of Ayr Logistics Limited in
Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, told Fortune.
In addition to the flower farm, Lemma has
established another company with Ayr which set out
on erecting a five-star hotel edifice in Addis Abeba
with an investment of 300 million Br.
“As soon as we get the land from the City
Administration, we will commence the construction,”
he told Fortune.
Formed in 1995, Ayr has offices in 13 countries and
has three billion dollars in projects with both
civil and private contractors in water, air and soil
projects. With an investment of over one billion
dollars, Ayr is working with eight investors in
Mexico in iron ore mining and processing. It is also
building two modern hospital complexes in Amman,
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an
outlay of 675 million dollars. Ayr also has projects
in China and Mozambique.
“Ayr seeks local partners in countries to make use
of the financial guarantee bond supplied by the
local banks for 20pc of the project cost and to give
the partners the management responsibility,” Lema
told Fortune.
Ayr decided to invest in Ethiopia following the
negotiation between Nabih and Lema. Subsequently,
Nabih and Philip Harris, president and general
manager of Ayr respectively, paid a first round
visit to Ethiopia. In doing so, the company
identified the prospective sectors that it would
jointly exploit with local investors.
Discussions have also been made between senior
government officials and the two visitors. Top
officials who held talks with the guests included
Girma Biru, minister of Trade and Industry;
Alemayehu Tegenu, minister of Mines and Energy;
Junedin Sado, minister of Transport and
Communications; Berhane Deressa, mayor of the Addis
Abeba City Caretaker Administration; and Abadula
Gemeda, president of the Oromia Regional State.
“They have informed us that they have the capacity
and interest to engage in wind power projects,”
Alemayehu told Fortune. “We hope and expect
they have the potential looking at their past
undertakings in different countries.”
The second round visit three weeks ago focused on
beginning the project immediately as Girma
discussed the arrangement of financial guarantees
for the two other five-star hotels and the 15-storey
twin building. Junedin and the representatives of
Ayr also discussed the railway projects.
The two flower farm projects and the first five-star
hotel joint venture agreements were signed during
this second visit.
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