The Ethio-Djibouti railway, the first standard gauge and fully electrified cross-border railway line in Africa, will begin delivering goods to Ethiopia’s Mojo dry port after four months. It will start carrying goods from Djibouti port to Mojo when the construction of the 3.5km track which links the dry port with the main route is completed next April, said Ahmed Tusa, CEO of the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise
The Ethio-Djibouti railway, which links Addis Ababa to the port of Djibouti, has been conducting a test running since its official inauguration last month by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti. The line is part of governments plan to expand railway infrastructure nationwide. In June 2012, the Ethiopian Railways Corporation signed a 1.7 billion US dollars turnkey contract for Turkish firm Yapı Merkezi to build a 389 km line starting at Awash on the Djibouti – Addis Ababa line and running north to Woldiya-Hara Gebeya.
China Communications Construction Co is building the next 220 km north from Hara Gebeya to Mekelle under a 1.5 billion US dollars contract. A line is also planned to run from Hara Gebeya eastwards to the port of Tadjurah in Djibouti, providing a second route to the sea.