Ethiopia Inaugurates Chinese Funded, Built Park

Sep 11 , 2020


Ethiopia has inaugurated the Chinese funded and built Sheger Park's Friendship Square on the eve of the New Year. The inauguration was held with the presence of President Sahle-Work Zewde, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian, and 1,500 invited guests. Marked by a lakeside fountain, an artificial pond, and an active waterfall belt on the Banteyiketu River, the event showcased different parades by the Republican Guard and a marching band. Built for 50 million dollars, the project was handled by First Highway Engineering Group, a subsidiary of the mammoth China Communication Construction Corporation. The project includes the construction of a central square that rests on 32ha of land and rehabilitates 1.2Km of the Banteyiketu River. The inaugurated project is the first phase of the three-year Beautifying Sheger project that aimed at alleviating the capital city's condition to one of urban tourism and also rehabilitating two riverbanks stretching from Entoto to the Aqaqi River. The second phase of the project worth 54.8 million dollars was awarded to Jiangsu Nantong Sanjian Group to be delivered in 14 months. It will construct a science museum, children amusement park, sports centre and wedding space. It will develop 16ha of land and 10.5Km of the riverside rehabilitation.


Radar

Electricity Bills Get the VAT Jolt

The new Value Added Tax (VAT) has begun implementation on electricity consumption and various service fees affecting customers who use more than 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, the tax will be applied to the excess amount of electricity consumption above 200 kilowatt hours. The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) began implementing the VAT on bills starting from November though both prepaid and postpaid customers will have to pay VAT a...


Radar

World Bank Greases Financial Overhaul

The World Bank approved 700 million dollars in credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to scale up support for the financial sector. The funds are targeted at modernizing the regulatory and supervisory framework of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), supporting governance reforms, balance sheet restructuring, and recapitalization of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), and transforming the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) into a sustainable development finance institutio...


Radar

Gadaa Bank Expands Reach, Faces Lending Constraints

Gadaa Bank closed its first full fiscal year of operations with a net profit of 90.2 million Br. The 18-month-old Bank held its annual general assembly at Millenium Hall on Africa Avenue last week where the board announced that during the year, the Bank opened 15 branches and now has 85 operational branches. “Due to recently enacted policy measures on credit by NBE and unmet resource mobilization during the fiscal year, the Bank was unable to make loan disbursements,” stated Wolde Bulto,...