Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on her three day official visit to Ethiopia visited the biggest textile and apparel factory in Africa, Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP),which is home to fifteen leading global apparel and textile companies from various countries like US, China, India, Sri Lanka as well as six local manufacturers.

The industrial park features a provision for all government services, one-stop shop service centre and also employs Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) that recycles 85 percent of sewerage disposal water, adhering to international standards. The ZLD system showcases the country’s commitment to build a climate resilient middle-income economy by 2025, as it was presented by the park authorities. The park is also expected to employ 60,000 people at full capacity and be able to generate export revenue amounting to $1 billion.

The president also took a closer look at the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH) and TAL apparel factories, who are expected to make their first exports to the world in a few months.

PVH is an American clothing company, owning brands such as Van Heusen, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, IZOD and Arrow. While,TAL Group is the world leading apparel manufacturer producing technologically advanced garments that combine superior styles, comfort and functionality.

President Johnson after witnessing the remarkable achievements of the country in light manufacturing such as apparel, leather products, agribusiness etc. said that there reside tremendous potentials on how they can work in partnership thereby encouraging inter-Africa trade. It would also provide them the necessary lesson so as to materialize their vision to build Industrial parks in Liberia.