Ethiopia-Djibouti rail to be done in year

An electrified rail link from Ethiopia’s capital along its main trade route to neighboring Djibouti will be completed by October 2015, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said.

The Railways Corp. project, funded with a $1.6 billion advance from the Export-Import Bank of China and by Ethiopia’s government, is half complete, he said Thursday in the capital, Addis Ababa.

“Priority has been given to it,” Hailemariam said in response to questions from members of parliament. “Next October, the line will be finished.”

The 408-mile railway is part of a five-year growth plan for Ethiopia begun in mid-2010 that seeks to spend $28.4 billion of public and private funding on infrastructure and industry. The new route to Djibouti may reduce travel times by half, according to the government.