Chinese contractor hands over Ethiopia-Djibouti railway

The Chinese contractor has handed over the China-funded 752-kilometer railway linking Ethiopia and Djibouti to local operators, marking the completion of six years of operation, reports Caixin. A ceremony was held on Friday in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, for the official transfer of the railway’s operations to the Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway Share Company (EDR), a joint venture established by Ethiopian and Djiboutian authorities.

The Chinese operator, a consortium of China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC) and China Railway Group, will continue to provide technical assistance under a two-year contract. The three countries also plan further cooperation and capacity expansion, according to Dai Hegen, chairman of CCECC.

The Chinese-built Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway is the first electrified cross-border rail line in Africa, linking the landlocked Ethiopia with the Port of Doraleh in neighboring Djibouti and the Red Sea.