Chinese textile manufacturer raises investment to a billion dollar

Chinese textile product manufacturer, Sunshine Ethiopia Wool Manufacturing Company, is set to increase its investment portfolio in Ethiopia to 980 million USD.
The Chinese textile firm, which has been part of the Adama Industry Park since 2016 has a registered investment capital of 350 million USD, but plans to further increase its investment capital in Ethiopia to 980 million USD as part of its second phase investment.
Chen Min, General Manager of Sunshine Ethiopia Wool has indicated that the planned investment would be important for the company’s current exportportfolio.
The General Manager, however, voiced his concern over recurrent electric power interruption as a major bottleneck affecting the company’s manufacturing chain.
“The ongoing frequent electric power interruption has led the factory to greater performance uncertainty in its ambition to expand its business,” the manager adds.
The general manager also noted that there are times that the factory encountered total blackouts for five or more days, eventually halting operations inside the plant.
“Such power issues are hampering the factory’s production capacity, and hundreds of employees are stranded inside the factory awaiting the return of light which has an effect on efficiency,” Chen said.
In addition to challenges attributed to recurrent power cuts, investors also expressed their concern over the waste-water treatment scheme at the Adama Industry Park.
Previously the government assured investors it would be finished on time but that has not been the case.
“It poses another challenge to our factory because we can’t afford trucks to transport 260 tons of industrial waste every day or to take out waste from the factory,” Chen said.
The textile firm, when operating under normal circumstances, has an annual production capacity of 10 million metric ton of wool fabrics, according to the general manager.
Ephreme Bekle, Operation manager of Adama Industrial Park, told Capital that they are aware of the situation and will solve the problem
The industrial park was built by China Civil Engineering Construction Company, and is part of the Ethiopian government’s grand plan to transform the country’s largely agrarian economy into an industrialized one by 2025.
Covering 100 hectares of land and built at a cost of around 146 million USD. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.