Addis Ababa – Djibouti railway line, which will connect Ethiopia with Djibouti, is said to commence trial service by the first week of October. The railway will connect the landlocked Ethiopia with Port Djibouti.

The project which consumed 3.4 billion USD stretches for 656 kilometers and it is said to be part of Ethiopia’s ambition to construct 5,000 Kilometers of new railways lines across the nation by 2020. The construction, which took 42 months, was undertaken by China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) and China Civil Engineering Construction (CCECC).

According to the Chief Officer of Communication service with Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC), Dereje Tefera, the trial service is scheduled to last from 3 to 6 months.

By reducing the duration of transporting goods from Djibouti to Addis Ababa from 2 days to 8 hours, the railway line is expected to boost Ethiopia’s trade.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency