ERA awards 1.8 billion birr in road projects to three contractors

The Ethiopian Roads Authority awarded three road projects to one local and two Chinese contactors to construct 99 km of asphalt concrete highways in Sodo, Woreta, and Dire Dawa at a cost of over 1.8 billion birr.
The agreements were signed by Araya Girmay, Director General of ERA and representatives of the three firms last Wednesday.
The first project was awarded to Chinese Rail Way Sevens Group to construct a 74.5 km road from Sodo to Denke. The 1.05 billion birr road should be finished in four years. It will be 19 meters wide and have six bridges. The construction cost of the road will be covered by African Development Bank and the Ethiopian government. A tender will soon be posted to find a consultant.
The road will pass through the villages of Sodo, Sawella, Gerrera, Yebish, Gasuba, Denke, Yeselam Ber and the Zones of Gamo Gofa.
The Woreta to Meklle project will be 5.3 km long and 30 meters wide. It was awarded to two indigenous contractors, Zeleul Yohannes and Bakora Trading. The 504.8 million birr project will take two years to complete. It is fully funded by the Ethiopian government. The consultancy work will be conducted by local firm, Pure Consulting Engineers Plc.
China Civil Engineering Construction won the other road contract at a price of 499 million birr to construct a 7.5 km road in nine months. The road goes from Melka Jebdu to Dire Dawa Industry park. It is 50 meters wide and has five bridges, a two meter wide bike lane and a 1.5 meter wide green area. The government is fully funding the project and is still looking for a consultant.
“Everybody understands how important roads are for transportation, investment, trade and connecting people, so we hope the roads will add value to our country by giving access to schools, businesses, hospitals and other vital services to people,” he said.
During the current fiscal year the Ethiopian Roads Authority awarded 12 projects to contractors.