Ethiopia has started conducting the third phase of the Urban Institutional & Infrastructure Development Programme that targets 117 urban areas at a cost of 859 million dollars. The consultancy programme was implemented in 19 urban areas in the first phase and 44 urban areas in the second, according to the Ministry of Urban Development & Construction. The programme, which began 11 months ago under the aegis of the World Bank and the government, created more than 800,000 jobs for the youth. The aim of the operation is to alleviate the performance of the urban local governments to expand and maintain urban infrastructure, services, and local economic development. The first phase was launched in 2008 with 300 million dollars in funding from the World Bank and 116 million dollars from the government. The second phase commenced in 2014 with the World Bank funding 380 million dollars and the government contributing 176.6 million dollars.