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Delayed by a year in part due to difficulties in
tough terrain on the gorge, the construction of a
hydroelectric dam at the Tekeze River Basin, in
Tigray Regional State, is well underway. Project
supervisors on the site believe that the dam will
begin generating electricity – at least from one of
the four turbines – at the end of 2008.
The Chinese and Ethiopian joint venture company,
CWGS, was formed by China National Water Resources
and Hydropower Engineering Company (CWHEC), 49pc;
China Gezhouba Water and Power (Group) Ltd, 30pc;
and Sur Construction, 21pc. The project owner, the
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo),
awarded the company this project at a cost of close
to two billion Birr. |
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National Cement to Open New Factory in Dire Dawa |
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National Cement SC, formerly Dire Dawa Cement SC, is
to construct a new cement plant in Dire Dawa at a
project cost of 700 million Br.
With East Africa Group Plc, possessing 80pc of the
company’s shares, it was re-established in November
2005 as a joint venture with the Privatisation and
Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA), the
latter commanding the remaining 20pc of the shares.
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AfDB
Reconsiders $40.8m Ethio-Djibouti Additional Power Loan |
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The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) rejection of
the 40.8 million dollar-additional loan request by
the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) and
Electricite de Djibouti (EdD), initiated finance
ministries of the two countries to re-request the
loan needed for the Ethio-Djibouti Power
Interconnection Project. |
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Sekota Businesspeople Want Tamrat Layne Freed |
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Tamrat Layne, former defence minister and prime
minister during the transitional period, may have
been locked up in jail for 10 years now, appearing
to have vanished in the debris of history, unlike
others who seem to have vocal constituencies here
and abroad. Nevertheless, members of the business
community in Sekota, a small rural town 719Km north
of Addis Abeba, still have him at heart. They would
like to see him granted amnesty by the federal
government before he finishes his 18-year term. |
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Dashen to Resume Issuing Visa Cards |
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Dashen
Bank SC purchased a new card personalisation machine, which
the Bank uses for issuing Visa cards, for around 200,000
euros (2.5 million Br) from the German Muhlbaur, through its
local agent SSC Plc. The machine will replace the broken one
the Bank had been using for over a year.
The new
machine arrived one week ago with two professionals who have
finalised the installation and left Friday, August 24, 2007.
Another professional working on security also arrived on the
same day, according to SSC sources.
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State Insurance Corp Earns 68.7m Br Profit |
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The state-owned Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC)
earned 68.7 million Br in gross profit in 2006/07,
37.8 million Br from investment dividends and
building rents.
EIC registered 5.7pc
higher profit than it gained last year, according to
the Corporation’s report released on August 24,
2007, as last year’s was 65 million Br. |
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Gov't Intervening to Lower Edible Oil, Sugar
Prices |
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Government stepped in to control the increase in the
prices of basic commodities such as sugar and edible
oil that are part of the widespread inflation
hitting the country. The announcement made on
Thursday, August 23, 2007, by state minister of
Trade and Industry, Ahmed Tussa, lifted the surtax
that was imposed on imported edible oil as part of
the efforts to ease the price hikes on the
commodity. |
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CBE Needs Guarantee to Open Anbessa’s Bus Procurement LC |
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The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) Loan Committee
turned down the request advanced by Anbessa City
Buses Service Enterprise (ACBSE) to open the Letter
of Credit (LC) for 25pc of the 13 million dollar-500
medium-sized buses the latter is to import from
China on credit. The Bank also declined to issue the
guarantee bond request of the Enterprise.
In the deal that went through earlier with bus
manufacturer, HIGHER Bus Company Ltd, the Enterprise
forwarded the request to open an LC with CBE in
early July. However, the Committee does not feel
confident in Anbessa’s financial capabilities for
repayment, according to sources from CBE. |
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NBE’s Millennium Coin Instructions Confusing
Banks |
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The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) issued a
directive and sent a letter which orders commercial
banks to take over and sell the memorial gold and
silver coins it minted for the Millennium. However,
the difference in prices of the coins as stated on
the letter written to the banks and on the directive
has caused confusion among bankers. |
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Resort Launches 50m Br Expansion |
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Kuriftu Resort, one of the most expensive
hospitality establishments in Ethiopia, launched a
50 million Br expansion project. The Debre Zeit (Bishoftu)
municipality granted a 15,000sqm plot for the
project.
Located 50Km east of Addis Abeba and established by
Boston Partners Plc, Kuriftu was established five
years ago and officially inaugurated on January 20,
2007. |
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Addis
Chamber Hires Secretary General |
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The Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral
Association (AACCSA) hired Teshome Beyene as the new
secretary general and Teferi Asfaw and Tamirat
Admasu as deputies.
Prior to assuming the new office, Teshome, was
president of the Mekele Chamber of Commerce and
Sectoral Association. After his tenure of presidency
ended two years ago, he was replaced by Assefa
Gebreselassie. Teshome resumed working for Nyala
Insurance in Addis Abeba who he had been serving in
the capacity of branch manager for 11 years. |
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ETC
Distributing SIM Cards to Diaspora in Airport |
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The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC)
began supplying mobile SIM cards in the Addis Abeba
Bole International Airport passengers’ terminal to
the Diaspora coming for the Millennium on August 21,
2007. |
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Land Designated for Horticulture Development |
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Modelling the success the flower industry is
enjoying, the Ethiopian government set out to repeat
the same success in the fruit and horticulture
sector and set aside 400,000hct of land to investors
interested in the sector. Through the coordination
of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MoARD), suitable land for the development of fruits
and horticulture farming has been selected in the
Oromia, Southern, Amhara and Harrari regions. |
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Sudanese Nile Petroleum Enters Ethiopia |
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The Addis Abeba City Caretaker Administration (AACCA)
Lease Board has decided to grant a plot requested by
state-owned Sudanese Nile Petroleum Company (NPC),
in its regular meeting held on August 17, 2007.
NPC requested the plots on May 25, 2007, and
deposited 650,000 Br in a blocked account as per
request by the city investment directive. |
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Adama
Primary City Road Work Completed |
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Akir Construction Plc, which in May 2004 the Adama (Nazaret)
city administration office awarded the Town Arterial
Asphalt Road Project for 71 million Br, finalised
the construction and handed it over to the
administration on August 18, 2007. Though the 20Km
road instalment was supposed to be finalised within
a year, it was delayed an extra two years. |
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Under Invoicing Costs Country $82m |
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Under invoicing export commodities cost the country
82 million dollars that would have been generated in
foreign exchange in the past 14 months, a study
conducted by a team of experts drawn from the
Ethiopian Customs Authority (ECA), Ministry of Trade
and Industry (MoTI), Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (MoARD) and National Bank of
Ethiopia (NBE) revealed. NBE, which has the
authority to manage the foreign currency of the
country, subsequently issued a notice stating that,
as of July 11, 2007, export prices brought to it by
exporters would be cross checked with local,
international and destination prices of the exports. |
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US
Company Plans 700m Br Investments |
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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. |
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