ERA to undertake eight road projects covering 738.19kms across Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has signed a US $453.6m contract to undertake eight road projects covering 738.19km across Ethiopia for the next four years. According to Authority General Director, Eng. Habtamu Tegegne, the country has been challenged by lack of road infrastructure for a century. Inversely, the allocated budget for road projects has not been properly utilized.

The Federal government is expected to cover the cost of seven out of the eight road projects across Ethiopia, with the remaining one expected to be financed by  This particular one is believed to be the Jimma -Chida road project.

The Authority signed a contract for 21 road projects in total including the eight projects and has allocated a total of over US $1.2bn within the fiscal year. The whole project is expected to cover more than 1774km.

Out of the 21 road projects, 14 projects are shared by local contractors. The Federal government is expected to financed 20 projects.

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Roads development in Ethiopia

Recognizing the importance of the road transport in supporting social and economic growth and its role as a catalyst to meet poverty reduction targets, the Government of Ethiopia has placed increased emphasis on improvement of the quality and extent of road infrastructure in the country.

To address constraints in the road sector, related to restricted road network coverage and poor condition, the Government formulated the Road Sector Development Program (RSDP) in 1997. In 1997 the road network had grown to 26,550km, of which 3,708km were paved. Then, as a result of investments made under the three phases of RSDP during the last 13 years the total length of the network has increased to 49,000 km. According to the thirteen years RSDP performance assessment document, out of the total network 22,247km is federal while the remaining 26,753 km is regional.

The condition of the road network is also improved. Currently, almost 55% of the total classified road network is in good condition, 26% are registered as being in fair condition and the remaining 19% is considered to be poor.