Ethiopia-Roads Authority to Hire Int'l Contractors for Three Major Roads

the ethiopian roads authority (era) is expected to enter into an agreement with international construction companies to commission the work of three, of the five, main roads to be constructed under world bank financing.

the bank is providing 126.8 million dollar grants to finance road construction projects in different parts of the country, 70pc of which is allocated to the three projects: nazareth - assela (79km), nekemt-mekenajo (127km) and adigrat-adewa (108km).

according to sources, close to 12 international construction firms, many of them chinese, are bidding to win these projects. the result of the bids will be announced before the end of this month. the authority has been evaluating the technical capability and financial offers which were made by these companies in september 2003, said a source.

once the projects are awarded to the companies, their work is expected to be completed within two years, adding hundreds of kilometres to the country's tarmac road network.

following completion of the first phase of the 10-year road sector development programme, that runs from 1997 to 2007, the total length of the country's road system now stands at 33,297km. having built a road network of 10,000km, ethiopia's roads have now been improved by 40pc, according to official figures.

during the second phase of the remaining five years, era plans to add 5,797km of roads, mainly focusing in the areas of high commercial activity and where the country's natural resources are believed to exist. the total cost is estimated to be 13 billion br, which is expected to come from the government's own coffer, the world bank and international aid agencies.

"in ethiopia, this support will take place under the safety net programme and will focus on farm-to-market or feeder roads," said a press statement issued after leaders of g8 met last week in georgia, u.s.a.

g8 leaders sought the assistance of the world bank to increase the number of activities under its public-private infrastructure advisory facility. "through these collective efforts, we aim to help the government meet, or exceed, the road building goals set out in the poverty reduction strategy programme."

the g8 leaders believe that developing rural infrastructure helps mitigate food insecurity by connecting food surplus and food deficit regions and enabling the government and donors to access people in need more easily.

the three roads to be awarded to the international contractors will be upgraded to tarmac and their width will be extended by five metres.

the tender document for the construction of two other projects - from wereta to gub gub (99km), located in the amhara regional state, and from dera to magna in the oromia regional state - will be offered before the end of this year, according to sources in era. since the road from dera to magna will not be tarmac, the tender will be available for local contractors.

federal government officials are pushing for additional funds from the world bank to finance five other major routes to be built during the remaining years of the 10-year road sector development. if funding is secured, era officials said, the roads from gub gub to wolldia (196km), adewa to sherie (84km), magna to mechara (117km), assela to goba (318km) and assosa to goba (219km), will be constructed. the studies for the construction of these roads have been completed and will be submitted to the bank soon, said era officials.

the finance required to complete the second phase will be six billion birr more than what was needed for the first phase, which came to 7.1 billion br.