AfDB lends $66.7m to Ethiopia to upgrade vital road corridor

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Board of the Directors has approved a $66.7-million loan for the Bedele–Metu Road Upgrading Project in Ethiopia.

“The upgrading of a 112-km road to an all-weather standard approved by the AfDB Group will boost economic activities and promote poverty reduction in Ethiopia,” said the Bank in a statement November 11, 2011.

With the total cost estimated at $81.7 million, the AfDB said an estimated 1.3 million people residing along the Bedele-Metu road corridor will benefit from the project.

“The project’s immediate beneficiaries include small holder farmers, coffee producers, traders, agro-based industries including a beer brewery and a sugar factory,” it said.

The loan will be implemented in four years, the Bank noted.

By Ekow Quandzie