COMMUNICATIONS Developing telecoms and transport infrastructure
Enhancing networks

Djibouto-Ethiopian railway headquarters: building strategic international partnerships.

Ethiopia is making a determined effort to improve and revamp its outmoded infrastructure system, especially its telecommunications and rail networks.

The government’s blueprint to enhance education, healthcare, the agricultural sector and state services has been largely successful, but it was clear one further vital ingredient was needed: information and communication technology (ICT).

In 2001, undaunted by the fact that the country only had four telephones per 1,000 inhabitants, the government set about creating a countrywide telecom network from scratch, using a combination of fibre, microwave, wireless and satellite technologies. In the intervening years Ethiopia has overcome years of technological exclusion with the creation of a next-generation network that is as capable as those found in more developed countries.

Tesfaye Biru Managing Director of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation

The network provides the country’s state operator, the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), with an infrastructure that not only supports the government's economic and social development projects but also creates a platform to expand its own business, for example through the provision of internet-related services. As Tesfaye Biru, ETC’s Managing Director, points out, “Having taken the lead in the fortification and realisation of the nation’s ICT capacity building over the past few years, we now have a broadband VSAT infrastructure set up in nearly all high schools and districts as well as a state-of-the-art broadband multimedia network in Addis Ababa.”

Achieving connectivity is a priority for Ethiopia. Mr Biru explains, “Addis is home to the headquarters of the African Union, the Economic Commission for Africa and other international institutions that clearly require world-class infrastructure.” The capital’s 2.5GB capacity fibre optic ring network is undoubtedly a major draw for foreign investors, as is the ETC itself. However, Mr Biru stresses that the priorities are to further strengthen the telecommunications infrastructure and regulatory framework before inviting suitable partners to play a part in the corporation’s future. “We have two major requirements,” he says. “First, we need to set up a good infrastructure. Second, we need a good regulatory environment to ensure the companies play fairly and consumer’s rights are protected.”

Abraha Habtegzi General Manager of the Djibouto-Ethiopian railway (CDE)

An equally attractive option for foreign investors keen to tap into Ethiopia’s potential in infrastructure is the country’s only railway providing passenger and freight transport, the Djibouto-Ethiopian railway, known as the CDE. Under joint Ethiopian and Djibouti plans to revitalise the century-old railway, in April 2004 strategic partners were invited to bid for a minimum share of 51 percent in the railway. The CDE’s General Manager, Abraha Habtegzi, was satisfied with the offers received from Canadian, South African, Indian, US and Korean operators. “If you consider the experiences of other African countries who got no more than two contenders, the five we received is a good result,” he says.

The concessionaires were attracted by the potential of this historic line, which provides landlocked Ethiopia with its only passage to the sea via the port of Djibouti. The 40 million euros (£27 million) pledged by the EU to fund the line’s rehabilitation also undoubtedly played a part. Mr Habtegzi explains, “The carrying capacity will be strengthened, and forty bridges and embankments repaired.” In short, the CDE General Manager is confident. “Whoever is invited will definitely see the fruits of their investment.”