The Ethiopian Industrial Development Corporation (IPDC) has awarded the construction of two new industrial parks for textile and apparel industry in Addis Ababa and Jimma to two Chinese construction firms, in a deal worth around ETB 5 bn (US$221.2m).

CGCOC will construct the Bole Lemi II industrial park, an extension of the Bole Lemi I, while CCCC will build the Jimma industrial park.

The Bole Lemi II Industrial Park will be constructed at a cost of 3.5 billion birr in southern part of Addis Ababa. IPDC has selected CGCOC to undertake the construction which will take 12 months, while the South Korean firm DOHWA will be the consultant of the project.

The Jimma Industrial Park will be built in the Oromia Regional State in Jimma town at cost of 1.5 billion birr. CCCC, the Chinese construction firm, which has accomplished several major construction projects in Ethiopia, will construct the industry park within nine months. A local consulting firm, MH Engineering, will supervise the construction project.

During the contract signing ceremony, IPDC CEO Sisay Gemechu said that the government gave number one priority to the textile and garment industry. It is a light industry which is labour intensive and it uses locally produced raw materials.

Mr.Sisay said that the Bole Lemi and Kilinto Industrial Parks will be built with 158 million dollars loan secured from the World Bank. These two projects are under one category and they followed the World Bank procurement proceduress.

Managers of the Chinese construction firms appreciated the Ethiopian government’s commitment to develop industrial parks and create job opportunities and boost the export sector. They assured that the construction of the projects would be completed according to schedule and high quality standards.