Operation of the Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Djibouti, Djibouti railway has been handed over to a local company after being run by the two Chinese companies that built the project since it launched in 2018.
The planned handover saw the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Engineering Corporation (China Railway) pass management of the 752km line to Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDR) after years of training its staff.
Abdi Zenebe, CEO of EDR, said: “Six years ago, we embarked on a journey that would connect our two great nations, Ethiopia and Djibouti. EDR was born out of a vision for progress, prosperity, and regional integration.
“Today, as we celebrate the successful operation and maintenance of this railways, we reflect on the remarkable achievement that have brought us here.”
The ceremony marking the exchange of operations is the culmination of efforts to train up EDR’s staff to control the electrified line, with the company formed in 2017 exactly for the purpose.
According to Guo Chongfeng, the CEO of CCECC’s Ethiopian branch, around 2,840 people have been trained by the company in operation, maintenance, and safety management.
Chongfeng also told Kenyan news outlet The Standard that the company had arranged training for around 200 middle and senior management personnel at EDR as well as training 100 local managers in China.
Built as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the railway has dramatically reduced journey times between Ethiopia and the port of Djibouti from around three days to less than 20 hours.
Though the $4.5bn line has been operating at a loss since it launched, it has quickly become a key part of Ethiopia’s trade network and reportedly carries around 90% of its exports.
Since it began operations, the railway has welcomed around 680,000 people and run 7,700 freight trains carrying 9.5m tonnes of cargo.
The railway is just one of a wide range of rail projects built or funded by China in Africa as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, with billions of dollars put into improving rail infrastructure in countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria.
