Chinese, Ethiopian construction companies hold forum

Chinese construction companies and political leaders arrived in Addis Ababa this week to enhance their cooperation with private Ethiopian construction companies.
The team, led by Hunan province governor Xu-dazhe, signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoU)s with businesses from Ethiopia.
During a conference, held at Hilton Addis last week, giant multinational construction companies from  the province shared their experience with their Ethiopian counterparts and discussed challenges the industry is facing.
Hunan province which is 1300 km from Beijing had a GDP of 330 billion USD in 2017 has become the world’s major destination of prefabricated construction materials. The province has become the base of more than 1,000 construction companies which have a presence overseas according to governor, Xu-dazhe.
“Ethiopia appreciates any help to achieve its economic plans,” said Engineer Aisha Mohammed, Minister of Construction during her opening remarks.
She also added that the China’s experience will help the Ethiopian construction sector overcome its quality safety, on-time delivery, and management problems.
The minister said the Ethiopian construction industry which has been consuming 50% of the nation’s capital budget for the last decade is expected to become fifth globally.
Among the Hunan based delegates makers of construction machines and vehicle producers also showed an interest in participating in industry and held talks with Ethiopian businesspeople.
Chinese construction companies, construction machine makers, vehicle producers and real estate companies all are expected to stay in Ethiopia for a few more days and explore opportunities.
The governor also invited the attendants of the summit for the fourth edition of the Investing in Africa forum which is going to be held after a year, in June.
The Ministry of Construction arranged this summit in collaboration with Hunan Province after its visit a few months ago. It was sponsored by Flintstone Homes.
Among the opportunities presented   to the delegates are the Public-Private Partnership Projects, and mining areas. Tax holidays, the availability of a large trainable labor force and infrastructure expansion plans have were highlighted as opportunities.
Members of the delegation said, in addition to the large population and natural resources, Ethiopia is a major strategic country for Chinese investors to reach the region and the continent.