Ethiopia to increase its express highways to 1600 km over coming 10 years

Addis Ababa, March 14, 2022 (FBC) – Ethiopia plans to increase the length of its express highways to 1,600 km over the next ten years from the current 301 km, Ethiopian Road Fund disclosed.

Road Infrastructure Planning Team Head at the Ethiopian Road Fund, Sadiya Beshir said Ethiopia has been introducing such modern roads in some parts of the country.

Some of the expressways so far built in the country include the Addis Ababa – Adama, Modjo – Hawassa, and Dere Dawa -Dewele. ENA quoted Sadiya as saying “The current total distance of expressways in Ethiopia has reached 301 kilometers.”

The government of Ethiopia has planned to increase the total length of the express highways in the country to 1,600 kilometers over the coming ten years with a view to expediting the economic and social development of the nation as well as encouraging regional integration, she stated.

The plan emanates from Ethiopia’s grand vision of 2030, which aspires to make the nation one of the symbols of prosperity in Africa, Sadiya said.

According to her, the express highways are expected to play key roles to enhancing the trade and economic integration with neighboring countries.

On the other hand, the team leader added that efforts are underway to enhance economic integration with neighboring countries by building connecting road networks.

“In that regard, we are planning to build additional road infrastructure to connect the country with Djibouti, Eritrea, and Sudan,” she stated.