Inability to takeover the imports of spare parts and a shortage of technicians for maintenance has pushed the Ethiopian Railway Corporation`s (ERC) management to extend a contract for two Chinese consultants tasked to handle such works for the Addis Abeba light-rail service.

The decision was made after the Corporation`s senior management acknowledged that it was not ready to substitute the Chinese consultants, Shenzhen Metro Group (SMG) and China Railway Corporation (CRC), to take over the management of supplies, which involves the procurement of spare parts from abroad and installations. The need to replace Chinese nationals with local technicians to maintain the light railway has also led to the renewal of the contract.

Happneing for the second time in two years, this presents a major setback for the Corporation, which has already managed to replace foreign nationals in the operationalisation of the 34Km rail line network in the capital.

Last year, the Office of the Auditor-General slammed the management of the light railway company for its failure to properly follow whether the consultants are delivering on their tasks on time, alleging that contracts had been extended without a logical justification. Citing a lack of pre-planning on the spare parts issue ahead of the construction has affected the performance of the light-rail services, it has also accused the management of failing to sign a contract that clearly states the deliverables of the consultants.

The light rail has generated 115.9 million Br in revenues last year, although it had incurred 4.6 billion Br in losses in its first four years of operations.

The latest extension has been made despite the consultants having failed to establish a training centre to coach local technicians on maintaining railway lines, a misfiring which the Auditor General already blasted in its performance report.

"An extension of a contract agreement between the parties was signed for an additional year - free of charge - for the second time because some tasks that were slated to be completed now remain outstanding," said Muluken Assefa, general manager of Addis Abeba Light Railway.

The Addis Abeba Light Railway was initially under the auspices of the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC) when it was completed in 2015. Built at the cost of 475 million dollars, with 85pc of the funding sourced from the Export-Import Bank of China, it became autonomous three years later even though its mandates are limited to operational works. The consultants are expected to set up a reliable procurement system for spare parts, conduct remaining training, and finalise signage and communications work, adding to establishing the training centre.

"We`ve reached an understanding with the consultants but the formal signing is yet to take place as the two parties gear up to take on their individual tasks," Muluken told Fortune.

The light-rail service, which is designed to serve 80,000 commuters a day, plans to lead an initiative to build a comprehensive maintenance shop where railway equipment can be maintained and repaired domestically. There is a growing demand for local repair as the country's railway infrastructure expands. Repair of some equipment requires huge investments, forcing the enterprise to spend up to 30 million Br. Yet, 30 of its 41 trains are operational at a time, while the remaining undergo scheduled maintenance.