Ethiopia Won’t Embark on New Mega Projects

Addis Ababa July 06/2018 Ethiopia wouldn’t embark on new mega projects in the upcoming fiscal year, since completion of ongoing projects needs huge finance, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said. The country needs 7.5 billion USD to finalize those projects in which their construction have launched previously. Prime Minister Abiy made the announcement while responding to questions from members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives that gathered to discuss on the federal budget proposed for the upcoming fiscal year. Abiy said that his government prefers to finalize projects, in which their construction is delayed in the coming fiscal year, rather than launching new projects. The Premier said that the government has been engaged in launching new projects, without providing due attention to their timely completion. Abiy said lack of commitment to finalize the projects on time is a serious problem in the country. “Starting mega project does not mean ensuring equal benefit and fairness, we only ensure benefit at individual and country level when we finalize projects at the planned cost and time,” he said. Completing the construction of the ongoing projects and operationalizing them is the major work of the government in the coming fiscal year.