A $3.4 billion Chinese-built railway linking the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the port city of Djibouti opened Wednesday, a boost to both African countries’ economies and an important milestone for Chinese investments in Africa.
The new 750-km line, which completely replaces a long-defunct French line built in the early 20th century, will reduce travel time between the two cities to 10 hours from the two to three days it currently takes to navigate the congested potholed roads crossed by 1,500 trucks a day.The trains, which will transport freight only during an initial three-month testing period, will be manned by Chinese drivers and conductors for five years while local staff are trained to operate the line.
The new line is the first step in a vast network of 5,000 kilometres of rail that Ethiopia wants to build by 2020, and it hopes it will be the starting point for an African Union plan to link the continent by rail from east to west.
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