Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About
- Thread starter TommyHilltrigga
- Start date
October 13, 2015 10:43 am
US turns to west African oil as shale output slows
Anjli Raval, Oil and Gas Correspondent
©Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images
Cycle of crises: a Niger Delta refinery
US oil refineries are turning back to old suppliers in west Africa as the growth in shale production slows, reigniting a transatlantic trade in crude cargoes that had withered during the tight oil boom.
The number of barrels of west African crude shipped to the US is at its highest level in almost two years, as strong refining margins and attractive prices have seen US plants snap up cargoes.
The move comes as traders and investors are watching for signs the US shale oil boom has peaked, after growth of more than 1m barrels a day each year between 2011 and 2014 helped create a global oil glut.
It may also throw a lifeline to producers of light, sweet crude in west Africa, who had largely lost access to North American buyers since the surge in output of similar quality oil from shale fields such as North Dakota’s Bakken and the Eagle Ford in Texas.
“Demand for light, sweet crude [in the US] is outstripping supply,” said Amrita Sen, head of oil research at Energy Aspects in London. “It’s likely these imports will continue at least for the next six months.”
While the volumes are not expected to recover to the levels seen before 2010, when Nigeria and Angola at times sent almost half of their oil exports to the US, it may contribute to tightening supplies in other regions.
West African producers have often been forced to discount their high quality oil to win new customers in Asia and Europe over the past five years.
Data from energy intelligence group Genscape shows in addition to US crude oil imports from Nigeria and Angola — the two largest African producers — US plants in the second half of this year have taken more cargoes from smaller producers such as Cameroon and Gabon.
Among the importers since July is refiner Phillips 66, which has purchased crude from Gabon and Angola for its New Jersey refinery. Philadelphia Energy Solutions has also taken Nigerian crude for its plant on the US east coast, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Some barrels are also going to the US Gulf Coast.
Genscape said for the first six months of the year a maximum monthly total of between 3m barrels and 6.6m barrels arrived from countries on Africa’s west coast.
In July and August this increased to 8m barrels and 9.6m barrels respectively. While September imports dipped to 6m barrels, October numbers already show a jump to 10m barrels — the highest since November 2013.
A narrowing of the spread between the price of Brent, the global oil marker, and WTI, the US oil benchmark, has helped bring shipments to East Coast refineries from across the Atlantic Ocean. The discount has shrunk from about $13 a barrel in March to just $3 today, as pipeline bottlenecks have eased, US refineries have burnt more crude and traders have priced in an expected slowdown in domestic production growth.
West African grades of crude oil are benchmarked against Brent.
Ehsan ul-Haq, oil analyst at KBC Energy Economics, said transportation costs from west Africa are as little as $2 a barrel, compared with as much as $12 a barrel to move shale oil from the Bakken from North Dakota to the East Coast by rail.
WTI has risen 24 per cent since hitting a six and a half year low in August, partly driven by signs of slowing US supply. The Energy Information Administration expects US production to decline from an average of 9.3m b/d in 2015 to 8.9m b/d in 2016.
More west African crude going to the US could mean less making its way to Asian refiners. India, China and others took more of these displaced barrels in recent years as US demand dried up.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e46c2486-6cdd-11e5-8171-ba1968cf791a.html#axzz3oPWLKLAL
US turns to west African oil as shale output slows
Anjli Raval, Oil and Gas Correspondent
Cycle of crises: a Niger Delta refinery
US oil refineries are turning back to old suppliers in west Africa as the growth in shale production slows, reigniting a transatlantic trade in crude cargoes that had withered during the tight oil boom.
The number of barrels of west African crude shipped to the US is at its highest level in almost two years, as strong refining margins and attractive prices have seen US plants snap up cargoes.
The move comes as traders and investors are watching for signs the US shale oil boom has peaked, after growth of more than 1m barrels a day each year between 2011 and 2014 helped create a global oil glut.
It may also throw a lifeline to producers of light, sweet crude in west Africa, who had largely lost access to North American buyers since the surge in output of similar quality oil from shale fields such as North Dakota’s Bakken and the Eagle Ford in Texas.
“Demand for light, sweet crude [in the US] is outstripping supply,” said Amrita Sen, head of oil research at Energy Aspects in London. “It’s likely these imports will continue at least for the next six months.”
While the volumes are not expected to recover to the levels seen before 2010, when Nigeria and Angola at times sent almost half of their oil exports to the US, it may contribute to tightening supplies in other regions.
West African producers have often been forced to discount their high quality oil to win new customers in Asia and Europe over the past five years.
Data from energy intelligence group Genscape shows in addition to US crude oil imports from Nigeria and Angola — the two largest African producers — US plants in the second half of this year have taken more cargoes from smaller producers such as Cameroon and Gabon.
Among the importers since July is refiner Phillips 66, which has purchased crude from Gabon and Angola for its New Jersey refinery. Philadelphia Energy Solutions has also taken Nigerian crude for its plant on the US east coast, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Some barrels are also going to the US Gulf Coast.
Genscape said for the first six months of the year a maximum monthly total of between 3m barrels and 6.6m barrels arrived from countries on Africa’s west coast.
In July and August this increased to 8m barrels and 9.6m barrels respectively. While September imports dipped to 6m barrels, October numbers already show a jump to 10m barrels — the highest since November 2013.
A narrowing of the spread between the price of Brent, the global oil marker, and WTI, the US oil benchmark, has helped bring shipments to East Coast refineries from across the Atlantic Ocean. The discount has shrunk from about $13 a barrel in March to just $3 today, as pipeline bottlenecks have eased, US refineries have burnt more crude and traders have priced in an expected slowdown in domestic production growth.
West African grades of crude oil are benchmarked against Brent.
Ehsan ul-Haq, oil analyst at KBC Energy Economics, said transportation costs from west Africa are as little as $2 a barrel, compared with as much as $12 a barrel to move shale oil from the Bakken from North Dakota to the East Coast by rail.
WTI has risen 24 per cent since hitting a six and a half year low in August, partly driven by signs of slowing US supply. The Energy Information Administration expects US production to decline from an average of 9.3m b/d in 2015 to 8.9m b/d in 2016.
More west African crude going to the US could mean less making its way to Asian refiners. India, China and others took more of these displaced barrels in recent years as US demand dried up.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e46c2486-6cdd-11e5-8171-ba1968cf791a.html#axzz3oPWLKLAL
Red Shield
Global Domination
The future of a secretive Hong Kong-based business network at the heart of China’s advance into Africa has been thrown into doubt after reports that its frontman, a jet-setting tyc00n with seven names and ties to the intelligence services, has been caught up in a Communist party investigation.
Sam Pa, as the bespectacled tyc00n is best known, was detained at a hotel in Beijing on October 8, according to a report in Caixin magazine and a person familiar with the matter. Mr Pa, who has cultivated relationships with dictators from Harare to Pyongyang in pursuit of deals in resources and infrastructure worth billions of dollars, could not be reached on his usual phone numbers.
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Mr Pa’s detention came a day after Chinese state media announced that Su Shulin, the governor of Fujian Province and a former chairman of state-owned oil group Sinopec, had been placed under investigation for “suspected serious disciplinary offences” by the ruling party’s anti-graft body.
Mr Su became the latest casualty in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. Caixin said the probes into Mr Pa and Mr Su were related; the pair were pictured at the same high-level meeting in Beijing in 2008 alongside a top oil official from Angola.
Sinopec, a key base of support for disgraced oil and security tsar Zhou Yongkang, has been a key partner of the business network Mr Pa leads — known informally as the Queensway group after the address of its Hong Kong headquarters. On Wednesday an employee at that address said she knew nothing about his detention.
The Financial Times examined Mr Pa’s dealmaking in Africa in an investigation in 2014. A report this year examined potential Queensway group connections to businesses in North Korea.
In 2004, Sinopec acquired a stake in a prime oil prospect off the Angolan coast in partnership with a hitherto unknown company called China Sonangol. The latter’s backers were Angola’s state oil company, which serves as the financial engine of the African nation’s authoritarian ruling clique, and a Queensway group holding company. That was the deal that propelled Mr Pa — who, as the FT last year found, had built up African contacts while working with Chinese intelligence services — into the forefront of China’s quest for Africa’s natural resources.
Other deals followed, including a 2009 multibillion-dollar infrastructure-for-resources pact with the military junta that had seized control of Guinea and a Zimbabwean diamond venture that saw Mr Pa placed under US sanctions last year for allegedly aiding Robert Mugabe’s regime. The Angolan oil project, operated by BP, yields 180,000 barrels of crude a day and has helped the southern African country become a major crude supplier to China.
Mr Pa has appeared vulnerable before, notably during the Chinese political upheaval of 2007, but has always recovered to continue the Queensway group’s remarkable expansion.
Jee Kin Wee, a lawyer for China Sonangol’s Singapore arm, said on Wednesday the company has lately had no active projects with Mr Pa and had not communicated with him recently.
“We have since seen reports in the media in China that he has been detained. We have tried to contact him to find out what is happening, but without success,” said Mr Jee in an email.
He added that “the contractual obligations of the company and the company’s commitment to honouring them do not depend on what happens to any individual.”
The company has stressed in the past that Mr Pa serves merely as an adviser. None of his names appear on Queensway group company documents; instead, most name one or both of the two Chinese women who act as his chief business associates. However, foreign governments with which the group does business have described Mr Pa in public statements as a senior executive at Queensway companies and he has repeatedly been photographed representing those companies in meetings with presidents and other rulers from Dubai to Luanda.
JR Mailey, one of the authors of a 2009 US congressional report on the Queensway group and the author of a second study of the group this year for the Pentagon’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said the group’s “sprawling corporate empire . . . remained dependent upon Sam Pa and his connections in Beijing and other capitals”.
“It’s hard to imagine that the Queensway group as we know it could survive without him,” Mr Mailey said. “But even if the Queensway group crumbles, it won’t be long before another predatory investor swoops in to fill the void left in its wake.”
Additional reporting by Ben Bland and Christian Shepherd
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1a358d9c-725a-11e5-a129-3fcc4f641d98.html#axzz3oPWLKLAL
Mauritius to launch platform to hedge African currencies against US dollar
PRINTRATING
Mauritius plans to launch a trading platform to hedge African currencies against the US dollar, part of a bid to expand its role as a financial hub for the continent. PHOTO | FILE
By REUTERS
Posted Monday, October 12 2015 at 19:31
IN SUMMARY
The Indian Ocean island is also in talks to boost ties with stock exchanges in Johannesburg and Nairobi to encourage cross-listing of shares and other areas of cooperation, Sudarshan Bhadain told Reuters in an interview.
The Kenya shilling is down 14 per cent this year, the Tanzania and Uganda currencies are down more than 20 per cent while the Zambian kwacha is down 26 per cent against the US dollar.
The international financial services sector in Mauritius has relied heavily on dealings with India, helped by a double taxation avoidance treaty that made the island the biggest route for foreign investment into India.
Focus on Africa
But that could be hit if talks with India lead to treaty changes, encouraging a shift in focus to Africa where officials see a chance to offer a broader range of financial services and shake off criticism that Mauritius is little more than a "tax haven".
"I do believe that Mauritius cannot remain a tax-centric jurisdiction," the minister said at his office in the island's financial district of Ebene.
"Mauritius has to move to the next level which is bringing real investments which are creating jobs in Mauritius ... and for us to be the platform for Africa for the right reasons."
Mauritius to launch platform to hedge African currencies against US dollar
Mauritius plans to launch a trading platform to hedge African currencies against the US dollar, part of a bid to expand its role as a financial hub for the continent. PHOTO | FILE
By REUTERS
Posted Monday, October 12 2015 at 19:31
IN SUMMARY
- The international financial services sector in Mauritius has relied heavily on dealings with India, helped by a double taxation avoidance treaty that made the island the biggest route for foreign investment into India.
- The international financial services sector in Mauritius has relied heavily on dealings with India, helped by a double taxation avoidance treaty that made the island the biggest route for foreign investment into India.
The Indian Ocean island is also in talks to boost ties with stock exchanges in Johannesburg and Nairobi to encourage cross-listing of shares and other areas of cooperation, Sudarshan Bhadain told Reuters in an interview.
The Kenya shilling is down 14 per cent this year, the Tanzania and Uganda currencies are down more than 20 per cent while the Zambian kwacha is down 26 per cent against the US dollar.
The international financial services sector in Mauritius has relied heavily on dealings with India, helped by a double taxation avoidance treaty that made the island the biggest route for foreign investment into India.
Focus on Africa
But that could be hit if talks with India lead to treaty changes, encouraging a shift in focus to Africa where officials see a chance to offer a broader range of financial services and shake off criticism that Mauritius is little more than a "tax haven".
"I do believe that Mauritius cannot remain a tax-centric jurisdiction," the minister said at his office in the island's financial district of Ebene.
"Mauritius has to move to the next level which is bringing real investments which are creating jobs in Mauritius ... and for us to be the platform for Africa for the right reasons."
Mauritius to launch platform to hedge African currencies against US dollar
Free White & 21
AAGang
DirtyMoney
Banned
Angola's economy not in recession, govt borrows $6 bln from Chinese
Thu Oct 15, 2015 11:57am GMT
1 of 1Full Size
LUANDA (Reuters) - Africa's third largest economy is not tipping into recession but economic growth will slow, Angolan Vice President Manuel Vicente told parliament on Thursday as he delivered the State of the Nation address on behalf of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Vicente also said that Africa's second biggest crude producer, which has been hard hit by the sharp fall in oil prices, had borrowed $6 billion from Chinese sources for a range of projects slated for 2016/17.
Sectors covered in the projects would include education, health, water and roads.
Vicente also said Angola expected foreign investment flows over the next two years were expected to reach $10 billion.
"Generally speaking the macroeconomic situation is stable. The good news is that there will not be a recession," Vicente said.
The reasons for the absence of Dos Santos, in power since 1979, were not known but the chairman of Angola's parliament said: "We wait for the president to recover as quickly as possible."
Angola is in a tight spot in the face of depressed prices for oil, which accounts for half of its gross domestic product, 80 percent of tax revenue and 90 percent of export earnings.
Luanda has canceled plans for a $1.5 billion Eurobond due to challenging economic conditions and has not set a new time frame for the issue, a finance ministry source said in September.
Angola's economy not in recession, govt borrows $6 bln from Chinese | Reuters
Thu Oct 15, 2015 11:57am GMT
1 of 1Full Size
LUANDA (Reuters) - Africa's third largest economy is not tipping into recession but economic growth will slow, Angolan Vice President Manuel Vicente told parliament on Thursday as he delivered the State of the Nation address on behalf of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Vicente also said that Africa's second biggest crude producer, which has been hard hit by the sharp fall in oil prices, had borrowed $6 billion from Chinese sources for a range of projects slated for 2016/17.
Sectors covered in the projects would include education, health, water and roads.
Vicente also said Angola expected foreign investment flows over the next two years were expected to reach $10 billion.
"Generally speaking the macroeconomic situation is stable. The good news is that there will not be a recession," Vicente said.
The reasons for the absence of Dos Santos, in power since 1979, were not known but the chairman of Angola's parliament said: "We wait for the president to recover as quickly as possible."
Angola is in a tight spot in the face of depressed prices for oil, which accounts for half of its gross domestic product, 80 percent of tax revenue and 90 percent of export earnings.
Luanda has canceled plans for a $1.5 billion Eurobond due to challenging economic conditions and has not set a new time frame for the issue, a finance ministry source said in September.
Angola's economy not in recession, govt borrows $6 bln from Chinese | Reuters
SleezyBigSlim
Banned
I'm from the south and you ain't even lying. Nigeria looks better then some of our suburbs
Guinea-Bissau starts receiving electric power from dam built by China
OCTOBER 12TH, 2015 FEATURES
Guinea-Bissau will start receiving part of the electricity produced by the Kaleta dam, built by Chinese state-owned company in neighbouring Guinea-Conakry, an official from the Energy Ministry, Lansana Fofana said.
Officials responsible for building the dam, which is now starting to operate and is one of the largest in the region, said one third of electricity production would be sent to neighbouring countries including Guinea-Bissau, a country that after the 2014 elections is now emerging from troubled political and economic times.
The Kaleta dam was built by China International Water & Electric Corp. at a cost of 526 million euros and was delivered in July, ahead of schedule, tripling the country’s power production capacity and bringing and end to chronic electricity shortages.
“This will give us a real basis for our economy because without electricity there is no development,” Lansana Fofana, who is responsible for the supervision of the new hydroelectric facility, told local newspapers.
Chinese companies are also involved in real estate projects in the capital, Conakry, and in the extraction and export of bauxite, a metal used in aluminium production, of which Guinea-Bissau has ample reserves that had started to be explored when the 2012 crisis hit the country.
With the situation in Bissau currently more stable and the economy benefitting from the good results of cashew production, the country’s main export, there has been renewed interest in the country from Chinese investors.
At the presentation of a project by China’s Avic in Bissau at the beginning of October, the chairman of the Guinean Chamber of Commerce, Braima Camará said Guinea-Bissau “is no exception” in terms of Chinese investment in Africa, which was “proof of the potential investment and business” in the country.
Avic, which already operates in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, signed an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to build a hotel, a hospital and for production and processing of agricultural products.
For agriculture, Guinea-Bissau will provide land for the cultivation of rice for local consumption and export, while the Chinese company will provide technical staff and funding.
The 2014 laying of the first stone of the future Palace of Justice, to be built and paid for by China. was a sign of a return to official cooperation.
Last year the Cooperation and Development Fund for China and the Portuguese-speaking countries annouced it was examining 50 projects, including some in Guinea-Bissau. (macauhub/GW)
Guinea-Bissau starts receiving electric power from dam built by China | Macauhub English
OCTOBER 12TH, 2015 FEATURES
Guinea-Bissau will start receiving part of the electricity produced by the Kaleta dam, built by Chinese state-owned company in neighbouring Guinea-Conakry, an official from the Energy Ministry, Lansana Fofana said.
Officials responsible for building the dam, which is now starting to operate and is one of the largest in the region, said one third of electricity production would be sent to neighbouring countries including Guinea-Bissau, a country that after the 2014 elections is now emerging from troubled political and economic times.
The Kaleta dam was built by China International Water & Electric Corp. at a cost of 526 million euros and was delivered in July, ahead of schedule, tripling the country’s power production capacity and bringing and end to chronic electricity shortages.
“This will give us a real basis for our economy because without electricity there is no development,” Lansana Fofana, who is responsible for the supervision of the new hydroelectric facility, told local newspapers.
Chinese companies are also involved in real estate projects in the capital, Conakry, and in the extraction and export of bauxite, a metal used in aluminium production, of which Guinea-Bissau has ample reserves that had started to be explored when the 2012 crisis hit the country.
With the situation in Bissau currently more stable and the economy benefitting from the good results of cashew production, the country’s main export, there has been renewed interest in the country from Chinese investors.
At the presentation of a project by China’s Avic in Bissau at the beginning of October, the chairman of the Guinean Chamber of Commerce, Braima Camará said Guinea-Bissau “is no exception” in terms of Chinese investment in Africa, which was “proof of the potential investment and business” in the country.
Avic, which already operates in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, signed an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to build a hotel, a hospital and for production and processing of agricultural products.
For agriculture, Guinea-Bissau will provide land for the cultivation of rice for local consumption and export, while the Chinese company will provide technical staff and funding.
The 2014 laying of the first stone of the future Palace of Justice, to be built and paid for by China. was a sign of a return to official cooperation.
Last year the Cooperation and Development Fund for China and the Portuguese-speaking countries annouced it was examining 50 projects, including some in Guinea-Bissau. (macauhub/GW)
Guinea-Bissau starts receiving electric power from dam built by China | Macauhub English
Sauanaffe Tustunnagee
Banned
Sub-Saharan Africa’s first light rail system starts operations—you guessed it, in Ethiopia
21 SEP 2015 10:40M&G AFRICA REPORTER
It is expected to carry 15,000 people per hour in one direction, meaning it could reach four times that in all directions, with a top speed of 70km/hr
The light rail system was built at nearly $500 million, and is expected to solve Addis Ababa's commuting headache. (Photo/Wikimedia)
THE country’s New Year was only marked on September 12, and it is already turning out to be a good one for Ethiopians—as scores queued up for hours Sunday to catch a ride on the inaugural service of the Addis Metro—the country’s, and sub-Saharan Africa’s, first light rail system.
Construction of the much-anticipated 32-kilometre line in the capital city ended in January, and the $474 million project has been in testing since, in addition to sorting right of way concerns.
It is expected to carry 15,000 people per hour in one direction, meaning it could attain four times that in all directions, with a projected top speed of 70km/hr. Authorities hope it will make commuting easier for Addis Ababa’s population of nearly 4 million.
The green trams will from October operate on the city’s East-West route, while those coloured blue are now shuttling between north and south, daily from 0600hrs to 2200hrs. Even the tickets are colour-coded, depending on the distance to be travelled, and the price. Fares could range up to $0.5, which observers say reflects heavy government subsidies.
The rail tramcars rely on power supplied mainly from overhead wires, with authorities saying it would have its own dedicated grid, including four substations to supply 160MW of power.
Each of the 39 stations across the service have their own names, while a network of alleyways—including 12 escalators and 22 elevators, will direct commuters to the various railcars.
The transport system was built over three years by the China Railway Group Limited after the Ethiopian government secured 85% of funding from the Export-Import Bank of China.
China will also train the drivers and maintenance staff, while another Chinese company put together the power system.
Ethiopia, with a population of 94 million, is projected by the IMF to grow at 8% in 2015-16, the second-fastest pace on the continent. The Horn of Africa nation has drawn a lot of debate for the shape and speed of its ‘developmental state’.
Host of projects
It is home to host of infrastructure programmes, including highways and the 6,000MW Grand Renaissance dam, the world’s seventh- biggest hydropower plant. The state-led economy is increasingly opening up to foreign investment to build roads and railways, driving the robust growth.
The country will decide whether to issue a second Eurobond to fund infrastructure projects after parliament reconvenes this month, the Finance ministry said last week. In December, Ethiopia raised $1 billion in its debut sale of Eurobonds.
Last week the country was host to a delegation of American business scouting for opportunities—as part of the largest US government-led trade mission to Africa yet as the Barack Obama government seeks to cement bilateral ties.
READ: Rising from the ashes: 10 astonishing facts on Ethiopia’s turnaround, how it did it, and the unseen forces driving growth
Africa’s only other light rail systems are found in North Africa—including in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
All abandoned
Nigeria is also working to get its Lagos Rail Mass Transit working amid delays following a missed September 2014 deadline, adding more pain to Africa’s most populous city.
At the beginning of the 19th century about 40 networks were in planning, but with the exception of Egypt, all were abandoned to make way for cars.
There are about 13 light rail networks in Africa, with two now in construction. Twenty kilometres of light rail are estimated by experts to create the equivalent of 4,000 jobs.
South Africa operates the higher capacity 80-km mass rapid Gautrain which was completed in June 2012.
Next month the South African city of Cape Town will host an annual African public transport meeting to take stock of trends and challenges in meeting the urban transport needs of the continent.
21 SEP 2015 10:40M&G AFRICA REPORTER
It is expected to carry 15,000 people per hour in one direction, meaning it could reach four times that in all directions, with a top speed of 70km/hr
The light rail system was built at nearly $500 million, and is expected to solve Addis Ababa's commuting headache. (Photo/Wikimedia)
THE country’s New Year was only marked on September 12, and it is already turning out to be a good one for Ethiopians—as scores queued up for hours Sunday to catch a ride on the inaugural service of the Addis Metro—the country’s, and sub-Saharan Africa’s, first light rail system.
Construction of the much-anticipated 32-kilometre line in the capital city ended in January, and the $474 million project has been in testing since, in addition to sorting right of way concerns.
It is expected to carry 15,000 people per hour in one direction, meaning it could attain four times that in all directions, with a projected top speed of 70km/hr. Authorities hope it will make commuting easier for Addis Ababa’s population of nearly 4 million.
The green trams will from October operate on the city’s East-West route, while those coloured blue are now shuttling between north and south, daily from 0600hrs to 2200hrs. Even the tickets are colour-coded, depending on the distance to be travelled, and the price. Fares could range up to $0.5, which observers say reflects heavy government subsidies.
The rail tramcars rely on power supplied mainly from overhead wires, with authorities saying it would have its own dedicated grid, including four substations to supply 160MW of power.
Each of the 39 stations across the service have their own names, while a network of alleyways—including 12 escalators and 22 elevators, will direct commuters to the various railcars.
The transport system was built over three years by the China Railway Group Limited after the Ethiopian government secured 85% of funding from the Export-Import Bank of China.
China will also train the drivers and maintenance staff, while another Chinese company put together the power system.
Ethiopia, with a population of 94 million, is projected by the IMF to grow at 8% in 2015-16, the second-fastest pace on the continent. The Horn of Africa nation has drawn a lot of debate for the shape and speed of its ‘developmental state’.
Host of projects
It is home to host of infrastructure programmes, including highways and the 6,000MW Grand Renaissance dam, the world’s seventh- biggest hydropower plant. The state-led economy is increasingly opening up to foreign investment to build roads and railways, driving the robust growth.
The country will decide whether to issue a second Eurobond to fund infrastructure projects after parliament reconvenes this month, the Finance ministry said last week. In December, Ethiopia raised $1 billion in its debut sale of Eurobonds.
Last week the country was host to a delegation of American business scouting for opportunities—as part of the largest US government-led trade mission to Africa yet as the Barack Obama government seeks to cement bilateral ties.
READ: Rising from the ashes: 10 astonishing facts on Ethiopia’s turnaround, how it did it, and the unseen forces driving growth
Africa’s only other light rail systems are found in North Africa—including in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
All abandoned
Nigeria is also working to get its Lagos Rail Mass Transit working amid delays following a missed September 2014 deadline, adding more pain to Africa’s most populous city.
At the beginning of the 19th century about 40 networks were in planning, but with the exception of Egypt, all were abandoned to make way for cars.
There are about 13 light rail networks in Africa, with two now in construction. Twenty kilometres of light rail are estimated by experts to create the equivalent of 4,000 jobs.
South Africa operates the higher capacity 80-km mass rapid Gautrain which was completed in June 2012.
Next month the South African city of Cape Town will host an annual African public transport meeting to take stock of trends and challenges in meeting the urban transport needs of the continent.
we need some mo pics like thisLast few shots
Local Chief...these nikkaz are Goons of the highest order...look at his bodygaurds...all color coordinatin and shyt
A lil Gift for ya''lll
Former Miss World/mISS Nigeria
Why do people keep lying to boost Ethiopia? Gautrain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia