Ethiopia inaugurates Chinese-built industrial park in W. Ethiopia

Ethiopia on Saturday inaugurated the Chinese-built Jimma Industry Park, in western Ethiopia's Jimma town some 350 km west of the capital Addis Ababa.

Jimma Industrial Park, built by the Chinese construction giant China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), is expected to host investors in light manufacturing sectors, mainly agro-processing, textile and apparel products.

Stretched on 75 hectares of land, with an ambition to attract foreign investors in Ethiopia's agro-processing sector, the industry park hosts nine manufacturing sheds.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, inaugurating the park, said that the Jimma industry park will help the western Ethiopia zone to become one of Ethiopia's industry zones.

According to Ahmed, the industry zone as the latest addition in Ethiopia's huge industrial park development ambitions would help local community members, particularly the youth, through the creation of thousands of employment opportunities.

Noting that foreign companies are now approaching the Ethiopian government to invest in the Jimma industry zone, the premier also urged local community members to strive with the Ethiopian government's efforts in terms of protecting and benefiting from the industry park and factories installed inside its premises.

Lelise Neme, CEO of Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), also said that the Jimma Industrial Park's strategic location as the source of Ethiopia's major natural resources, mainly Ethiopia's major export commodity coffee, would benefit not only the local community but also Ethiopia's economy in general.

The Jimma Industry Zone, which is the latest of the 6 operational industry zones in the East African country, would help the socioeconomic condition of Jimma town and its surroundings, Neme said.

Wen Yingzheng, General Manager of CCCC's East Africa Region, told Xinhua that CCCC was able to finalize the project's both design and construction procedures within 9 months.

"We did our best, and we are glad that a high quality industry park was completed in such a short time," he said.

The industrial parks is part of the Ethiopian government's grand plan to transform the country's largely agrarian economy into an industrialized one by 2025.