Ethio-Djibouti Railway has secured more than $20 million in revenue from its freighter and passenger train services over the past eight months, director general of the railway corporation has said.
The 750 kilometers Ethio-Djibouti standard gauge Railway, which was built jointly by Ethiopia and Djibouti, started operation on January 1, 2018 and is accelerating its impact on the economy.
During the first year operation in 2018, the corporation managed to move some 800 trains and earn $35 million.
“We see this railway not only as a line of transportation, it is the artery, it is the life line and the economic corridor. This railway is related to the country’s industrialization and development,” he articulated, Director-General, Engineer of the corporation Tilahun Sarka said during a media tour on Thursday.
The railway service has created a convenient transportation corridor for the import and export goods of Ethiopia through it.
The passenger train, which passes through 19 stations in 15 hours to arrive in Nagad, Djibouti, has three different compartments, namely hard-seat, hard-berth, and soft-berth compartments.
During the first year operation in 2018, the corporation managed to move some 800 trains and earn $35 million,” he said
There are currently 900 Ethiopians and 250 Djiboutian working at the railway, it was learned.
Chinese embassy in Addis Ababa organized a media open-tour in the Chinese built railway and investments on the Adama Industrial Park.
According to a report delivered during the occasion, the freighter and commuter have gained revenue of 19.9 million and 537,400 USD respectively since January up to July 2019 with the passenger train transporting 39,000 commuters.
Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian said the railway is so important because landlocked Ethiopia’s 95 percent import and export passes through Djibouti.
MG/abj/APA