Ethiopia’s Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) disclosed that they are all set to inaugurate two industrial parks Mekelle industrial Park and Kombolcha Industrial Park next month built by Chinese firms, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) respectively.

The two industrial parks the Mekelle Industrial Park and the Kombolcha Industrial Park, located 783 kilometers and 252 km north of Addis Ababa respectively, are said to have combined construction cost of 250 million USD and both dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries.

By the end of the Second Growth and Transformation Period (GTP II), Ethiopia has ambitions to be a textile and apparel manufacturing hub in Africa aiming to generate 1 billion USD from textile and apparel sector. By the end of the same period the country intends that the sector will create job opportunities for 45 million work force.

Commenting on the development, IPDC’s CEO, Sisay Gemechu, said that there are about 10 ongoing or completed industrial park projects with plans to inaugurate four other industrial parks by end of 2017.