ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has seen remarkable expansion in road network over the past 26 years, with the East African country constructing about 142,500 km of roads during this period, a senior official has said.
Speaking Wednesday at the 7th annual road research conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, Urban and Infrastructure State Minister Wondimu Seta said that Ethiopia has invested over 20 billion U.S. dollars to build the 142,500 km of roads across the country.
"The expansion followed the establishment of the Ethiopian Roads Administration and the country's Road Sector Development Program, which expanded the road network from about 26,500 km in 1997 to over 169,000 km in 2023. Road density increased from 24.1 km to 148.3 km per 1,000 square km during this period," Seta said.
He noted that the average distance to access all-weather roads has decreased from 21 km to about 4.4 km. He added that the construction sector contributes roughly 20 percent to Ethiopia's urban economy, making it the second-largest source of employment and income for citizens and creating about 2 million job opportunities per year.
Although challenges such as high costs, quality, safety and environmental issues persist in the sector, Seta said the involvement of local companies in Ethiopia's road network development has progressed over time.
Seta also said that foreign companies, particularly Chinese construction firms, have significantly contributed to the expansion of Ethiopia's road network. ■
