The International Hydropower Association (IHA) has ranked Ethiopia as the top hydropower producing country in Africa with an installed capacity of 3,822 MW.
South Africa is second with 3,595 MW, followed by Egypt with 2,844 MW, Democratic Republic of Congo with 2,593 MW while Angola is fifth.
According the report by IHA, neighboring Kenya drops two spots to land in the 14th spots.
Ethiopia has an array of projects which are currently under construction, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which will generate 6,450 MW at full capacity upon completion.
It also signed an agreement six months ago to build two geothermal power plants at a combined cost of USD four billion.
The two plants, Corbetti and Tulu Moye, will produce a combined 1,000 MW of power upon completion in eight years’ time.
Ethiopia is eager to meet rising energy demand from its industries as well as becoming the continent’s biggest exporter of energy.
Abiy invites Kiir, Machar for face-to-face talks in Addis
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has invited President Salva Kiir and the leader of main armed opposition group Riek Machar (PhD) to meet in Addis Ababa within a week.
A statement released on Wednesday said the SPLM-IO acknowledged receipt of the invitation “IGAD-led face-to-face talks with President Salva Kiir” on the 20th of June, 2018 in Addis Ababa”.
“The Movement welcomes this invitation and salutes the courage of IGAD for reaching this prudent and timely decision, it will go a long way in building confidence in the peace process,” Mabior Garang de Mabior, head of SPLM-IO National Committee for Information and Public Relations, said.
President Kiir did not issue a statement but sources at the presidency confirmed receipt of the invitation.
The invitation comes after a similar one by the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir to President Kiir and his main rival Machar.
The two rivals will meet the IGAD leaders on the sidelines of the upcoming AU summit in Mauritania next month.
KOICA signs USD 2.8 mln dev’t program with Amhara
Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Amhara Bureau of Agriculture signed a five-year integrated development program that will be implemented in six kebeles of the regional state on Tuesday.
KOICA will undertake the integrated development program with a budget of USD 2.8 million.
KOICA country director Young ah Doh and Amhara Bureau of Agriculture deputy head Aytenew Endashaw signed the agreement.
Chief Administrator of the Amhara Regional State, Gedu Andargachew, said during the signing ceremony that the regional government is engaged in improving the livelihood of farmers in the region by formulating the development experiences of different countries.
He said the agreement with KOICA will hopefully bring about the desired results as indicated in its objectives and may also be replicated in similar kebeles in the region.
Korea’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Hoon-min Lim said KOICA will support the country which is engaged in sustainable development.
“Beyond the Ethio-Korean development program, lots of lives are sacrificed in the relationship between Ethiopia and Korea,” the Ambassador said.
Eastern Industry Zone to start phase-2 construction following demand
Ethiopia’s Eastern Industry Zone officials said Monday that construction of its second phase will commence soon as demands from foreign companies increase.
Eastern Industry Zone Vice Director, Jiao Yongshun, told Xinhua that the industry zone has currently run out of land for interested investors.
According to Jiao, there are 83 companies that are either under construction or operational inside the premises of the industry zone, of which 56 have already started production.
Jiao said due to lack of land and warehouses, the industry zone is not accepting new interested investors that would either rent a warehouse or construct their own plant inside the industry zone.
The Eastern Industry Zone is Ethiopia’s first industry zone that inspired the Ethiopian government towards establishing more industry parks across the country towards becoming the manufacturing hub of the African continent.
This week Sansheng Pharmaceuticals PLC inaugurated a pharmaceutical plant which was built at a cost of 85 million US dollars at the industry zone