Amhara State Repairs 500km

Amhara Regional State Rural Roads Authority has repaired 500km of roads in the region within the past five months, it reported. A total of 2,248km of roads, including three bridges are planned to be repaired for this budget year, according to Getnet Zewdu, public relations work process owner with the authority. The state authority has allocated a 51 million Br budget for road maintenance.

Capital’s Roads Authority Signs 150m Br-worth of Agreements

Over 150 million Br in road construction agreements were signed between the Addis Abeba City Roads Authority (AACRA) and contractors and consulting firms for the construction and supervision of five road projects in the city on Friday, December 30, 2011, according to the authority. Some 146.9 million Br is for the construction, while 16 million Br is for the design and study of the road projects, according to the agreement.

Quintal of Cement down to 240 Br from 500 Br

The cost of cement has significantly been decreasing after the total number cement factories reached 15 in the country, the Ministry of Industry (MoI) said. The cost for a quintal of cement has now been reduced to 240 Br from the previous 500 Br and above, according to Shimeles Wolde, chemical industry development director at the Ministry. Muger, Messobo, and National are among the 15 cement factories that are supplying a total of 5.3 million tonnes of cement to the market.

Dire Dawa Cement Factory Expansion Commences

The expansion of the Dire Dawa Cement Factory, 515km from the capital is underway at a cost of nearly one million birr, according to the company. There is a plan to produce over 45,000ql of cement while creating 1,000 jobs. It is entering the production phase in the coming four months, according to Habtamu Tekle, project manager of the company.

Revenues Auth. Rewards Reach 24.7m Br in Last Five Months

The Ethiopian Revenues & Customs Authority (ERCA) offered rewards totalling of 24.7 million Br to informants who contributed tangible information in the fight against smuggling and tax evasion. The ERCA offered the rewards in the five-month period from July 1, 2011, to December 30.  The informants collected their rewards from 17 branch offices of the ERCA.

W Gojam Zone Collects 82m Br in Revenue

Close to 82 million Br in revenue was collected from different income titles in West Gojam Zone, Amhara Regional State, during the last five months, the zone’s revenue department said. The revenue was collected from 18 weredas and urban administrations in the zone, according to Jembere Workneh, department manager at the Zone. The department set the target to collect a total of 161.3 million Br in revenue during the budget year.

Exports Reach $1.1b in Last Five Months

Ethiopia has secured more than 1.1 billion dollars in revenue from the export of various commodities over the past five months, the Ministry of Trade (MoT) said. The revenue exceeds that of same period last year by 227.5 million dollars. The country has exported about 35 types of agricultural and industrial products to more than 120 countries worldwide during the reported period.

N Gondar Zone Electrifies Three Towns

Three rural towns, Zabzaba, Amchaho, and Atsedemariam, in Alefa Wereda, North Gondar Zone can now access fulltime electric power. The towns, which collectively have eight thousand people, are beneficiaries of the government’s plan to expand electric service to rural parts of the country, according to Tadele Alemu, wereda deputy chief.

SC to Build Recreation Centre at 96.5m Br

True Way Capital Services SC is to build a park and a family recreation centre on a 4,400km plot of land around CMC area, at a cost of 96.5 million Br, according to the company. Some 50 million Br has been collected from the sale of shares. The company envisions collecting 38pc profit, annually, from the centre, according to Bekele Eshete, general director of the board.