ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The expansion project of Mojo Dry Port, contracted by Chinese construction giant China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), was inaugurated Thursday by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Mojo of the country's Oromia regional state.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the PM said that Ethiopia has registered rapid socio-economic growth over the past few years, in which logistics has played a vital role. However, for Ethiopia, a landlocked country, the logistical cost of imported products remains relatively high, resulting in the high price of goods in the market.
He commended the completion of the expansion project, which will greatly boost the capacity and operation efficiency of the logistics hub. "With capacity for up to 1 million 20-foot containers a year, it enables domestic packaging of dry bulk cargo, saving foreign currency and creating jobs for our citizens," Abiy said.
For his part, Sun Mingxi, charge d'affaires at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, noted that the Ethio-Djibouti railway is a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as an excellent example of China-Ethiopia bilateral cooperation, and the Mojo Dry Port is an important facility affiliated to the railway.
"China and Ethiopia are working closely to advance this 'Prosperity Belt' along the railway. The expansion and modernization of this dry port will contribute to the future development of the railway and Ethiopia's export industry," Sun said.
Located about 70 km southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, this project is an expansion and upgrade of the Mojo Dry Port, covering an area of approximately 67.8 hectares. The average cargo detention time at the port will be significantly reduced from a previous maximum of 60 days to about eight days now, according to CCECC.
As the largest inland port in Ethiopia, Mojo Dry Port handles the storage and transportation of most of the country's imported goods. The expansion of this port costs approximately 110 million U.S. dollars, and all the financing was provided by the World Bank, it was noted. ■