Railway line between Ethiopia and Djibouti inaugurated

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - The longest railway line so far in Africa, which links Addis Ababa to Djibouti, was inaugurated in the Ethiopian capital Wednesday.

The two-track passenger and cargo line runs 656 kilometers (407 miles) from Ethiopia to Djibouti. It is regarded a modern version of an earlier one that was constructed 119 years ago between the two neighbors.

The $3.4 billion railway -- mostly financed by China -- on electricity and is environmentally friendly, according to the Ethiopian Railway Corporation.

"It is a gift of the Chinese government to Africa,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said at the inauguration.

Hailemariam said the now obsolete railway had seen many cities blossomed along its path such as Adama and Dire Dawa.

“Now a new opportunity has been created for these and other cities to expand and grow,” Hailemariam said.

Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh said:“What we are celebrating here today goes beyond the railway, it is first and foremost a celebration of the ability of two countries to work together and overcome the barriers to building infrastructure on our continent.”

“With this new train, it will take 10 hours to transport goods and people between our two capitals,” he said adding it had taken much longer previously.

Ethiopia, a vast and land-locked country of 100 million people, uses the Djibouti port -- a tiny Gulf of Aden nation of less than a million -- for 90 percent of its imports and exports.