Chinese Government provides RMB 373.14 million grant -- via ETCA — for Railway Training Academy Construction Project

In January 2018, the Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) announced that it would be building a Train Training Academy (also referred to as a Railway Academy and a Railway Training Academy) in Bishoftu at a cost of RMB 373.14 million with a grant from the Chinese Government. The grant agreement was signed by the Chinese Government and the Government of Ethiopia on December 19, 2017. The grant proceeds were drawn at least in part from an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ECTA) that the parties signed on May 12, 2017. In 2018, a Chinese company had begun a study to determine a design for the academy and it was planning to release the design in the first six month of 2018. However, the Railway Training Academy Construction Project encountered delays in 2018 and 2019 due to the Ethiopian Government's need to negotiate land agreements with 150 farmers near the project site in Bishoftu (for resettlement purposes). According to a press release from the Ethiopian Government, project implementation had still not begun as of May 30, 2021.

Additional details

1. AidData has assigned a OECD sector code of 210 because this project involves the construction of an academy that will focus on railway operator skills and training. 2. The system identification number for this project in the Government of Ethiopia’s Aid Management Platform (AMP) is 87143436111896. The AMP identifies a grant commitment value of ETB 323,767,813 (which is worth much less than RMB 373.14 million) and a grant commitment date of November 17, 2016. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

4

Number of total sources

12