Six drug factories to start operation at Kilinto Park

The Ethiopian Investment Commission gave licenses to six pharmaceutical manufactures to set up factories inside the Kilinto Pharmaceutical Industrial Park.
The pharmaceuticals are, Domina Pharma Plc on one-hectare of land, Eva Pharma PLC on 1.5 hectares of land, Intrade co.UK Ethiopian branch on 3.125 hectares of land, Africure Pharmaceuticals on 1 hectare land, Global Pharma on 0.5 hectares and Dagim Dereje Pharmaceuticals on 1.6 hectares of land.
According to the commission, these manufacturers are expected to produce dermatological products, parasiticides, scabies treatment and dandruff therapy shampoo, syrups and nasal drops, nasal decongestants antibiotic, anti TB and anti-malaria drugs, contraceptive drugs, non-beta lactam, and beta-lactams, antibiotics antiretroviral and non-anti-microbial agents tablets ointments capsules with a view to helping the pharmaceutical sector, which is still dominated by heavy importation of pharmaceutical products from abroad. The park is expected to support Ethiopia’s economy through the export of pharmaceutical products as well as import-substitution.
Even if the construction of Kilinto Industrial Park was finished in early 2019, the commission has not set a rate to lease the land which has made it difficult for investors to get in. The land lease rate in Kilinto Industrial Park is an average of 3.59 USD per meter square per annum, which is based on a cost-recovery approach.
The duration of land leases will be 40 years. In addition to the land development cost, firms investing in Kilinto are expected to pay an additional one birr per square meter per annum for the duration of the lease period. Investors in Kilinto Industrial Park will construct their own factories and sheds, as these, must be tailored to the types of products being produced according to the commission.
Located in the south of Addis Ababa, the park lays on 279 hectares of land, 166 hectares of which will be dedicated to manufacturing. Kilinto is being developed in two phases in collaboration with the World Bank Group.
Kilinto Industrial Park is constructed by Chinese construction giant Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CTCEGCL) at a cost of 204 million USD. The Park can host more than 1,000 pharmaceutical companies’ and offers serviced land, which includes the entire essential infrastructure such as a wastewater treatment plant, reliable water supply, and a dedicated power substation. It features 18-km of asphalt road, provision of basic social services, green areas, warehouses, business centers and car parking space, according to the Ethiopian Industry Parks Development Corporation.
In addition, a one-stop-shop will be located in the park, offering government services related to customs clearance, investment licensing, administration, product registration, etc. Joint warehousing, calibration, and testing services will also be available in the park.
The country plans to increase the number of industrial parks to 15 as part of a goal of turning Ethiopia into a light manufacturing hub in Africa. Currently, there are nine operational industrial parks. The government has secured USD 47 million in export earnings from products manufactured in industrial parks over the first quarter of this fiscal year. The performance has increased by 88 percent compared to last year in the same period. The conflicts in different parts of the country over the years, lack of infrastructure including electricity, foreign exchange, have affected the performance of the industrial parks.