On January 1st, the 756-km standard-gauge rail line linking Ethiopia to Djibouti officially started commercial operations. The new rail link offers both passenger and freight transport services between Addis Ababa and Djibouti. The Ethiopian Minister of Transport, Ahmed Shide, said that the standard gauge project as a milestone in China-Africa cooperation. “In addition to further enhancing economic ties as well as the people-to-people links between Ethiopia and Djibouti, it will have significant contribution to the ongoing development efforts of building a new Ethiopia,” the minister said.
The first 320-km section, linking Sebeta to Mieso was constructed by China Rail Engineering Corporation (CREC) and the remaining 436 km from Mieso to Djibouti port section was built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
“It is the first trans-boundary and longest electrified railway on the African continent. We see this as earlier harvest project of the Belt and Road initiative,” Tan Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia said during the ceremony.
For the USD 4 billion project, China’s Exim Bank has provided a loan. The line allows trains to run at speeds of 120 km/h, cutting travel time to 12 hours, a distance that is covered by road connections within three days.
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