African Highway Construction
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean builder, said Tuesday that it has won an US$82 million (99.63 billion won) deal to construct a highway in Ethiopia, the center of East Africa, on Feb. 15. The latest deal is the second construction project of the year won overseas by a Korean contractor in five days after receiving the bridge construction deal in India.
The project, commissioned by the Ethiopian Roads Authority, will be financed by funds provided by Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). According to the plan, the project will link the two regions of Meki and Zeway in Oromia, the state in the central Ethiopia, in a 37-kilometer four-lane highway. The length of the construction is 40 months after breaking the ground, and the contract signing ceremony took place in the country on Feb. 15.
Once the Meki-Zeway highway is completed, a wide road network connecting Ethiopia with Kenya as far as to Mombasa in the east coast will open up. It is likely to revive bilateral trade between the two East African nations. Moreover, it will help the landlocked country expand the marine logistical network and boost regional economic growth.
Ethiopia is making every effort to expand logistics infrastructure by connecting roads with ports of its neighboring countries, including Kenya. In the nation’s ongoing five-year economic development plan, Ethiopia prioritizes the Modjo-Hawassa highway construction project, which is to build a 205-kilometer four-lane highway that is connected to Kenya.