Construction of Awash Oil Depot Link Railway Reduce Transportation Cost, Time: Officials

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Addis Ababa, February 1/2021(ENA) The Awash oil depot link railway connection and unloading facilities project, whose construction was commenced on Sunday, would help reduce transportation cost and time, government officials said.

Some 2.18 billion Birr has been allocated by the government of Ethiopia for the construction of the project which is expected to be completed in one year.

The construction will be carried out by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

It was pointed out during the occasion that 110 freight wagon are going to be used for fuel transportation.    

Upon completion, the project is expected to improve the efficiency of fuel transportation by providing alternative means of transport which is currently limited by road.

It will also increase efficiency of oil depot operations and ease the existing pressure of domestic oil supply across the country, it was indicated.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO of Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise, Tadesse Hailemariam said Ethiopia annually purchases more than 3 billion dollars worth of fuel from abroad.

It has been difficult to transport such amount of fuel by trucks using road as it consumes a great deal of time and money, he said and added that the best ways that would help bring a more cost-effective and free of pollution fuel transportation are the use of pipeline and railways.  

“In this regard, the Awash oil depot link railway connection, upon completion, will drastically improve the cost and time of fuel transportation as it provides a capacity to transport 80 trucks of fuel in a single locomotive within few hours from the port of Djibouti to Ethiopia,” he elaborated.

Ethiopian Railways Corporation CEO, Sintayehu Woldemichael on his part said the project will play a key role in terms of making the railway line more efficient since it connects the Awash-Kombolcha-Hara Gebeya- Mekelle railway line from Addis Ababa to Sebeta-Meiso-Dewole.

The corporation will undertake the necessary monitoring and supervision activities to complete the project on time, he added.

According to State Minister of Transport, Awel Wegris, the project would  provide significant economic benefits by saving the time and money being wasted by road transportation.   

Assistance General Manager of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, Guo Chongfeng vowed to exert maximum efforts to complete the project on time. 

Though the Ethio-Djibouti railway line inaugurated in 2018, it is not yet fully operational in transporting petroleum as the line remained unconnected to any depots in the country.

Awash petroleum depot is a hub for the national oil import, but it still using trucks to store the product imported from Djibouti.

Ethiopian News Agency
2023