Transport in Ethiopia is overseen by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Over the last years, the Ethiopian federal authorities have significantly increased funding for rail and road construction to build an infrastructure, that allows better economic development.
Ethiopia is building a standard gauge railway network, the National Railway Network of Ethiopia, planned to consist of up to 6,000 km of railways in a number of years. The railway network serves a strategic goal to allow Ethiopia a sustainable and stable economic development. By 2030, the Ethiopian government hopes to invest about $65 billion into its transportation. [1] The railway network's primary purpose is then both to connect landlocked Ethiopia to the world market by ensuring a seamless access to one or several sea ports for trade and for transporting most imports and exports. The rail transport of goods appears favorable – if compared to road transport – in terms of volume, costs, safety and speed of transportation for both imports and exports. The primary port for Ethiopia is the Port of Djibouti in Djibouti. More than 95% of Ethiopia's trade passes through Djibouti. [2] [3]
The port of Djibouti is served by one international railway, the electrified standard gauge 756 km long Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway (of which 656 km run in Ethiopia). This railway has officially been opened in October 2016 but it is in trial service with no regular traffic in 2017. Once operational by the end of 2017 or in 2018, it will allow passenger transport and a travel time from Addis Ababa to Djibouti City in less than twelve hours with a designated speed of 120 km/hour. [4]
Another railway, the Awash – Hara Gebeya Railway will go into trial service over its first 270 km in 2018. This second railway links Addis Ababa and the Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway with the north of Ethiopia. Once operational over its first 270 km, possibly 2018 or 2019, it will allow both freight and passenger transport. A train ride from Addis Ababa to the twin cities of Kombolcha and Dessie will be possible in around six hours with a designated speed of 120 km/hour. [5]
Road projects now[ when? ] represent around a quarter of the annual infrastructure budget of the Ethiopian federal government. Additionally, through the Road Sector Development Program (RSDP), the government has earmarked $4 billion to construct, repair and upgrade roads over the next decade. [6]
As the first part of a 10-year to 15 year Road Sector Development Program, between 1997 and 2002 the Ethiopian government began a sustained effort to improve its infrastructure of roads. As a result, as of 2002 Ethiopia has a total (federal and regional) 33,297 km of roads, both paved and gravel. The share of federally managed roads in good quality improved from 14% in 1995 to 31% in 2002 as a result of this program, and to 89% in 2009 [7] the road density increased from 21 km per 1000 km2 (in 1995) to 889 per 1000 km2 (in 2009) however, this is much greater than the average of 50 km per 1000 km2 for Africa. [8]
The Ethiopian government had begun the second part of the Road Sector Development Program, which was completed in 2007. This had involved the upgrading or construction of over 7,500 km of roads, with the goal of improving the average road density for Ethiopia to 35 km per 1000 km2, and reducing the proportion of the country area that is more than 5 km from an all-weather road from 75% to 70%. [9]
In 2024, the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that they will ban combustion engined vehicle imports. [10] As of February 2024, the date and details of the ban have not been released.
According to the Government of Ethiopia, it has spent over 600 billion birr (US$50 billion, €30 billion) on infrastructure since 1990.
Major roads include:
No 1: north east from Addis Ababa 853 km via Adama and Awash to Bure on Eritrean border
No 2: north from Addis Ababa 1071 km via Dessie, Mek'ele and Adigrat to Axum
No 3: north west from Addis Ababa across the Blue Nile at Dejen and again at Bahir Dar east around Lake Tana 737 km to Gondar. Designated part of the Cairo-Cape Town Trans-African Highway 4 (TAH 4)
No 4: west from Addis Ababa 445 km via Nekemte to Gimbi
No 5: west from Addis Ababa 510 km via Jimma to Metu
No 6: south west from Jimma 216 km to Mizan Teferi
No 7: south from Mojo 432 km via Shashamane and Sodo to Arba Minch. Part of road between Mojo and Shashamane is designated part of the Cairo-Cape Town Trans-African Highway 4 (TAH 4)
No 8: south from Shashamane 214 km via Awasa to Hagere Mariam. Designated part of the Cairo-Cape Town Trans-African Highway 4 (TAH 4)
No 9: south from Adama 77 km to Asella
No 10: east from Awash 572 km via Harar and Jijiga to Degehabur
The Addis Ababa–Adama Expressway was completed in 2014 as the first expressway in Ethiopia. In December 2015, construction began on a second expressway between Awasa and Mojo, where it will connect to the existing expressway. [11]
In addition, the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has undertaken a three-year project to upgrade over 370 km of roads in the country. Contracts have been signed with the Ethiopian Defense Construction, China Railway Engineering, Eney Construction, China Wuyi, Yotek Construction and FAL General Contractor. [12] [13]
It is said that Ethiopia has the highest rates of traffic fatalities per vehicle in the world. This is due to many factors. For example, the roads are poorly maintained, lightened and marked; which are major factors in road accidents. Another major factor is the people themselves, who ignore the rules of the road. Their disregard of road safety puts every other driver at risk. Due to this, foreigners are advised to keep a safe distance from the car in front of them because the driving is unpredictable; anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Even the surroundings involving transport can be incredibly dangerous. For example, there are instances when carjackings and robberies occur on highways or streets that are away from the public eye. Due to this, people are forced to be highly alert of their surroundings, such as checking to make sure no one is lurking around their vehicle before entering and avoiding nighttime travel. [14]
Ethiopia is landlocked and was by agreement with Eritrea using the ports of Asseb and Massawa until 1997; since the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, Ethiopia has used the port of Djibouti for nearly all of its imports. Ethiopia increasingly relies on inland dry ports for distributing cargo, after cargo arrived from Djibouti. The main Ethiopian dry port is Modjo dry port.
The Baro River is the only river used for transport.
Total: 9 ships (with a volume of 1,000 GT or over) 81,933 GT/101,287 DWT (2003 est.)
ships by type: cargo ship 7; container ship 1; petroleum tanker 1; roll-on/roll-off ship 3 (1999 est.), 1 (2003 est.)
As of 2021, Ethiopia has 57 airports, of which 17 have paved runways . [15] The Addis Ababa Airport is the largest airport in Ethiopia and one of Africa's biggest and busiest. It is the main hub of Ethiopian Airlines, the national airline that serves destinations in Ethiopia and throughout the African continent, as well as nonstop service to Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The airport is also the base of the Ethiopian Aviation Academy. As of June 2018, nearly 450 flights per day were departing from and arriving at the airport. In 2018, about 12 million passengers were carried on domestic and international flights.
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2003 est.)
total: 68
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 23 (2003 est.)
This article is about transport in Oman.
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative center of Ethiopia. It is widely known as one of Africa's capitals.
Adama, formerly Nazreth, is a one of the cities of Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone 99 km (62 mi) southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.
Awash Subah is a market town in central Ethiopia. Located in Administrative Zone 3 of the Afar Region, above a gorge on the Awash River, after which the town is named, the town lies on the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, which crosses the gorge by a bridge there. It is the largest settlement in Awash Fentale woreda.
Rail transport in Ethiopia is done within the National Railway Network of Ethiopia, which currently consists of three electrified standard gauge railway lines: the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, the Awash–Weldiya Railway and the Weldiya–Mekelle Railway. Other lines are still in the planning phase. There is also an urban light rail system in the country's capital, the Addis Ababa Light Rail.
The history of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, formally begins with the founding of the city in the 19th century by Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II and his wife Empress Taytu Betul. In its first years the city was more like a military encampment than a town. The central focus was the emperor’s palace, which was surrounded by the dwellings of his troops and of his innumerable retainers. In the 1920s, Addis Ababa experienced a significant economic upturn, marked by a surge in the number of middle-class-owned buildings, including stone houses furnished with imported European furniture. The middle class also introduced newly manufactured automobiles and expanded banking institutions. Urbanization and modernization persisted during the Italian occupation, guided by a masterplan aimed at transforming Addis Ababa into a more "colonial" city, a trajectory that continued beyond the occupation. Subsequent master plans, formulated from the 1940s onward with the input of European consultants, focused on the development of monuments, civic structures, satellite cities, and the inner city.
Current railway stations in Ethiopia are served by standard gauge railways of the National Railway Network of Ethiopia which is mostly under construction, except the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway. Other stations were built for the in 2018 still operating metre gauge Ethio-Djibouti Railways, although this railway has officially been superseded by the new Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway.
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway is a metre gauge railway in the Horn of Africa that once connected Addis Ababa to the port city of Djibouti. The operating company was also known as the Ethio-Djibouti Railways. The railway was built in 1894–1917 to connect the Ethiopian capital city to French Somaliland. During early operations, it provided landlocked Ethiopia with its only access to the sea. After World War II, the railway progressively fell into a state of disrepair due to competition from road transport.
Rail transport in Djibouti is administered through the Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Rail Transport Share Company, a bi-national company between Ethiopia and Djibouti to manage the only railway in Djibouti, the electrified standard gauge international Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway. This railway opened on 1 January 2018 replaced the international metre gauge railway from Djibouti's capital Djibouti City to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, which was officially decommissioned in 2016.
People's Republic of China–Ethiopia relations were established in 1970. Ethiopia has an embassy in Beijing and the People's Republic of China has an embassy in Addis Ababa.
Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project, also known as Lamu corridor is a transport and infrastructure project in Kenya that, when complete, will be the country's second transport corridor. Kenya's other transport corridor is the Northern Corridor, which links Mombasa to Uganda, passing through Nairobi and much of the Northern Rift. Some basic LAPSSET infrastructure has been built. The construction of LAPSSET's main components is currently ongoing with construction of the first berth at Lamu Port completed in October 2019.. Although the project is not formally stalled, its short to medium term success looks increasingly unlikely. Insecurity and political instability in Kenya are mostly to blame for this, as are more commercially viable alternative pipeline options through Tanzania or Ethiopia. The low oil prices since 2015 also affect LAPSSET's commercial prospects.
The Addis Ababa–Adama Expressway is a toll road that connects Addis Ababa to Adama. It is the first expressway in Ethiopia. The road was built between 2010 and 2014 by the China Communications Construction Company. The government opened the highway for traffic on September 14, 2014. The Government of Ethiopia covered 43 percent of the road's construction cost, while the remaining 57 percent was supplied by a loan from the Exim Bank of China.
The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway is a standard gauge international railway that serves as the backbone of the new Ethiopian National Railway Network. The railway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on January 1, 2018. It provides landlocked Ethiopia with access to the sea, linking Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa with Djibouti and its Port of Doraleh. More than 95% of Ethiopia's trade passes through Djibouti, accounting for 70% of the activity at the Port of Djibouti.
The Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) is the governmental body of Djibouti that administers and manages the Port of Djibouti and several other facilities in the country. The DPFZA also oversees the management of Djibouti International Free Trade Zone, serving as a liaison between the companies based there and other governmental agencies. The DPFZA reports directly to the Presidential Office.
The Awash–Weldiya Railway is a standard gauge railway under construction, that will serve as a northward extension of the new Ethiopian National Railway Network.
The Weldiya–Mekelle Railway is a standard gauge railway under construction, that will serve as a northward extension of the new Ethiopian National Railway Network and connects Mekelle to Addis Ababa and Djibouti via the Awash-Weldiya railway.
The A1 Road is a road in Ethiopia that spans a total distance of 802 kilometers. The road traverses an arc-shaped route through the central and eastern regions of the country, connecting the capital city Addis Ababa to the border with Eritrea at Bure. The route passes through Adama and Awash. Additionally, a branch of the A1 extends to the border with Djibouti, providing a link between Ethiopia and its neighboring countries.
The A2 Road is a national route in Ethiopia.It serves as a principal trunk highway for an entire distance of 1,013 kilometers. The road runs from north to south from Addis Ababa to Eritrea. The A2 is important in making transport and trade easy between the central highlands with northern parts of Ethiopia.
The Adama–Awash Expressway is a national route in Ethiopia currently under construction designed to link the cities of Adama and Awash, located in the central region of the country. Upon completion, the Adama–Awash Expressway will span a total length of 130 kilometers, contributing significantly to the expansion and modernization of Ethiopia's road network. The development is expected to have a positive impact on the country's economic growth, trade, and social development, while also improving travel times and overall transportation safety.
Ethiopia and Djibouti's economies are reliant on each other with about 70 percent of all trade through Djibouti's port coming from its land-locked neighbour.
Currency: Ethiopian birr | |
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This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
