GLOBALink | Chinese engagement propels Ethiopia's development of industrial parks

ADDIS ABABA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia aspires to further strengthen cooperation with China in the development of industrial parks to realize its aspiration of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa, an Ethiopian government official has said.

Speaking to Xinhua recently, Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Ethiopia's Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), said Chinese engagement in Ethiopia's industrial parks development endeavor is very significant. He said the Ethiopian government envisages further strengthening its cooperation with China to tap into the sector's huge potential in enabling the country's economic transformation.

Debebe said despite the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other international phenomena, Ethiopia anticipates remaining China's preferred destination in the African continent in the development of industrial parks and investments inside the parks.

The IPDC chief emphasized that Ethiopia followed China's footsteps in the development of state-of-the-art facilities towards attracting potential export-oriented international companies.

According to Debebe, the Ethiopian government, as part of its commitment to devising the country's economic restructuring model, had initially assessed China's experience in the development of industrial parks and special economic zones.

Debebe said "The delegates that were assigned to make assessments were staying in China for a longer time to learn from the success stories -- the model, the infrastructure and so on. After our government assessed the impact, the possibility and the opportunities that we can harness from this tool, we embarked on the industrial park concept."

He said Chinese companies were the major players in realizing Ethiopia's ambition of building state-of-the-art industrial park infrastructures throughout the country.

Presently, the IPDC manages 13 industrial parks, the majority of which were built by Chinese construction companies with Chinese technology and standards.

Debebe said the Ethiopian government, working along with its Chinese partners, has successfully built trust among international investors to commit their capital and technology inside the industrial parks and manufacture their products targeting the export market.

The IPDC chief said Ethiopia and China have recently signed a cooperation agreement to revitalize the investment and trade attachment in the backdrop of the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular emphasis on strengthening cooperation on industrial parks.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service