Addis Ababa, 09 September, 2015(WIC) – The Ethiopian road Authority says it has completed the Yabelo-Metagefersa road project and it is opened for traffic.
Communication Director with the authority, Samson Wendimu, told WIC that the 30 kilometers long Yabelo-Metagefersa gravel road construction was completed and launched this week.
The road was constructed with the cost of over 90 million birr by Shade general contractor, a local contractor, and the consultancy and monitoring activities were also carried out by Transnational Engineers Company, Samson said.
According to Samson, the opening of Yabelo-Metagefersa road project for traffic will have a great significance by minimizing the time and travel cost of trucks. The completion of the road construction particularly has also the potential to create job opportunities for the surrounding communities and get more benefits from their resources.
The constructed road connects with the main route of Mombassa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa road, said Samson. The road will interconnect SNNP, Oromiya and Somali regional states and increase import –export trade with neighboring countries, he added
The Ethiopian road authority is exerting efforts to build the capacity of local road contractors and consultants in order to enhance their competence, said Samson. Nowadays 70 percents of the Federal road projects are constructed by local based companies, he noted.