The African Development Bank (AfDB) extended 11 million dollars in financial assistance for the development of agro-industrial parks in four regions of the country. The parks are planned to be built in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP regional states, according to Fetlework Gebreegzabiher, minister of Trade & Industry. This is not the first time that financial assistance has come from the AfDB for Ethiopia, which plans to build 17 agro-industrial parks. Last December, the Bank signed a 15-million-dollar grant agreement to finance the integrated Agro-Industrial Parks Support Project (IAIPSP). The sites are in Bure in the Amhara region, Bulbula in the Oromia region, Yirgalem in the SNNP region and Baeker in the Tigray region. AfDB has a total ongoing commitment to Ethiopia of 1.89 billion dollars, according to data from last fiscal year.