Africa’s First: Ethiopia Launches China-Funded $4B Electric Train To Djibouti Port

Ethiopia has launched a $4 billion Chinese-funded electric train system today, the first in Africa, which will link the capital Addis Ababa to the Port of Djibouti — the entry point for more than 90 percent of the nation’s imports and exports.

The railway line which is 752.7 kilometers long with a speed of 120 kilometers per hour will reduce transportation period between the two nations from ten to seven days, Kingdom Boiz reported.

China funded the landmark project which was built by its firms, China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The project will boost the nation, which is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an average rate of about 10 percent annually.

The historic opening of Africa’s first electric railway, however is a stark contrast to the ongoing Oromia protests which have hit the Amhara and Oromia regions, since November last year.

It comes three days after about 100 people died in a stampede during the Irreecha celebration in Bishoftu on Sunday.

China and the U.S, the biggest trading partners to the horn of Africa nation, have remained silence even in the wake of Sunday’s massacre.

They have supported an authoritarian government that like most African regimes has little tolerance for opposition, often labeling such voices as dissidents and terrorists.

The government linked the Oromo protests to the attacks on Esmeralda Farms Nederland in Amhara region last month and this week’s attack on Dangote Cement factory in Ada Berga.

The two incidents are likely to scare foreign investors, Ethiopia Media Forum reported.