The massive investment on infrastructure in Ethiopia is a key factor in attracting private investment to the country, according to Ernst and Young (EY) Managing Partner, Zemedeneh Negatu.
Talking to ENA, Zemedeneh said the construction of railways, roads, energy and other infrastructural developments is the right approach for attracting private investors.
Many developed nations especially in Asia, started their development programs with initial heavy investments on infrastructure, according to Zemedeneh.
He said: “Ethiopia is also taking necessary measures on investing on infrastructure as a means of accelerating economic transformation.”
Ethiopia has become one of the top countries in the world in investing on infrastructure over the past three years.
The EY Managing Partner indicated that the newly inaugurated Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway Line will have a huge impact in its contribution to economic transformation and huge reduction on transport costs.
The full functioning of the rail line will create a reliable rail network for exporters of Ethiopian products as they can easily transport goods from the center to the port of Djibouti.
Regional UNIDO Director and UN Representative to AU, Jean Bakole on his part said government’s investment on infrastructure would set a conducive ground to lure the private sector on extensive investment projects.
“The construction of infrastructure is very important in motivating private sectors to do investment in the country,” the UN official said.
“When we speak about the industrial sector, it is very important to think about infrastructure to enhance productivity in the sector.”
The construction of the Great Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) is also another huge investment that the country has embarked on and this would significantly contribute to the development of industry as well as regional integration and cooperation with other countries, Bakole indicated.
According to the UN Representative, “infrastructure requires huge resource and the government of Ethiopia has made significant effort to put the infrastructure in place.”
He expressed his hopes that building favorable infrastructural facilities will create better environment for local private sector and will also provide a conducive situation to attract more FDI.
[www.ena.gov.et/]