The Tokyo-based solar solutions company, Toyo Solar, has announced plans to set up a solar cell manufacturing facility in Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP) with an expected annual capacity of two gigawatts. With an outlay of 60 million dollars financed through internal resources and advance payments. Construction is scheduled to begin next month with production expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025. TOYO has selected a 31,500Sqm facility that will be retrofitted to meet the requirements of modern, automated cell production. Once operational, the new facility is estimated to create up to 880 jobs, including manufacturing and engineering positions. "The project will enable us to rapidly scale up solar cell production to meet the needs of our planned module facility in the United States," said Junsei Ryu, CEO of TOYO. Ethiopia is exempt from tariffs for bifacial solar cells to the U.S.