ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Wednesday said the Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway has augmented its contribution to Ethiopia's import and export sector.
The commendation came after senior Ethiopian officials along with Abdi Zenebe, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDR), visited the railway on the same day.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics said in a statement that the railway has significantly increased the type and volume of freight transportation, eventually boosting its contribution to the East African country's overall export and import sector from 11 percent to the current 15 percent in less than a year.
State Minister of Transport and Logistics Denge Boru said the railway is contributing to the country's export and import sector, mainly by reducing logistics time and cost and through the provision of efficient services to exporters who supply products to the foreign market.
The state minister said the railway is increasingly transporting much-needed materials that are essential in terms of enhancing production and productivity in Ethiopia, which include fertilizers.
He said the railway is playing a promising role in facilitating the logistics services of the country.
The EDR last month disclosed an income of 2.5 billion Ethiopian birrs (about 47.4 million U.S. dollars) from August to December as the Chinese-built 752.7-km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway was able to transport more than 500,000 metric tons of cargo in the past five months.
The income was said to have about 600 million Ethiopian-birr increase as compared to the same period of the previous Ethiopian fiscal year. ■