Habtamu Tegegne, director-general of the Ethiopian Roads Administration, has requested the World Bank for a 15-month extension to complete a section of the Modjo-Hawassa Expressway connecting Batu (Ziway) and Arsi Negele towns. Filed through the Ministry of Finance, it is the second request in less than a year.

The World Bank approved the disbursement of 370 million dollars in credit for building the 57Km toll road that connects the two towns. The segment was initially scheduled for completion in December 2021. However, Habtamu requested the Bank a nine-month extension. The approving nod for the extension came at a cost, as the World Bank downsized its original credit commitment by a quarter to 295 million dollars. It has thus far disbursed 86 million dollars.

Representatives of the World Bank were unavailable for comment.

The 202Km Modjo-Hawassa Expressway was launched in 2016, separated into four segments. The first lot from Modjo to Meqi was completed last year by the state-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) for 126 million dollars. It was financed by a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). South Korea's Export-Import Bank financed the second lot, connecting Meqi with Batu with an outlay of 228 million dollars. The road from Modjo to Batu was opened for traffic in mid-September 2021.

Although the contractor, SBI International Holdings AG, was awarded the Batu-Arsi Negele project in 2018, construction did not begin until last year due to pushback from landholders, including farmsteads. Close to 1,000 farmers have been displaced by the construction of the Batu-Arsi Negele road project. The Roads Administration has paid 1.9 billion Br in compensation to owners who surrendered properties. A little over 3,400 farmers have been affected by the Expressway project.

Officials blame right-of-way issues for the delays. Rights of way are common and major causes of delays, especially on federal projects implemented in regional states, according to Bezabih Amdo, a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience. He says regional and local authorities are better suited than the federal government to manage relocations and compensations.

"Farmers see local administrators in good faith than federal officials who don't know much about the local culture," Bezabih argues.

The Batu-Arsi Negele project was less than a third of the road built by January this year. It has since reached 43pc completion, according to Addishiwot Tadesse, project team leader.

"The remaining work won't take much time," he said.

If the World Bank approves Habtamu's second request, the credit extension period will spread to 24 months. He wants to see the deadline pushed back to December 2023.