Ethio-Djibouti Railway surpasses plan for first quarter

On Nov 27, 2023 251

Addis Ababa, November 27, 2023 (FBC) – The Ethio-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDR) said it has obtained 998.13 million Birr in the first quarter of the current Ethiopian fiscal year exceeding the plan set to the reported period.

EDR CEO Abdi Zenebe (PhD) told EPA that the stated sum was secured by handling 63,081 passengers and transporting 587,000 tons of inbound and outbound cargo. Plan set to attain 875 million Birr in the reported period and the performance surpassed the plan by over 123 million Birr.

The plan also set to transport 670,000 tons of incoming and outgoing cargo in the first quarter and 587,000 tons were transported. Out of the plan to transport 37,500 passengers to different destinations, the company managed to transport 63,081 and achieve 168 percent of the plan.

The EDR has made preparations to expand the current 20 service stations and open new ones. The company is providing cargo and passenger train services in Dire Dawa, Mojo, Adama, Lebu, Endode, Dike and Miyeso as well as Dewele railway stations.

The CEO further highlighted that the company has been hugely transporting students’ textbooks and soil fertilizer thereby supplementing the progress of the country. Also, various kinds of vehicles, fruits and vegetables as well as other agricultural and industrial commodities are being transported by the EDR.

“We have the plan to transport cement and sand by train and preparations are being made. We have also been to increase our total cargo transportation capacity from 1.3 million tons to two million tons.”

Noting the company’s effective services to various institutions and reducing cargo costs, Abdi indicated it has collected over 3.5 billion Birr in six months from February 2023. “Until the first week of January 2023, it was planned to collect over four billion Birr.”

The component connects Ethiopia and Djibouti by transporting various materials from the port to the hinterland and contributing a large share to the growth of the transport sector, he remarked.