Ethiopia’s Chinese-built railway: only a fifth of its trains still in service seven years after its launch

Ethiopia’s Chinese-built railway creates a $60 million headache. Only eight of the line’s 41 trains are operational and the network requires a revamp that would cost more than $60 million, according to the Addis Ababa Road and Transport Bureau. Those funds would be needed for maintenance of the trains and tracks to be carried out by engineers brought in from China.

Maintenance is only carried out by Chinese engineers also means knowledge and skills aren’t being transferred to locals, According to an economist at Addis Ababa University, Alemayehu Geda, who has researched the China-Africa relationship.

China is a major creditor to Ethiopia, which has turned to Beijing to fund various infrastructure projects. Addis Ababa owes China more than $13 billion.

In-depth look into Ethiopia’s debt to China, published in Semafor, a news website founded in 2022 by a former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News and media columnist at The New York Times, and the former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group.

Worth reading!

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