(CNTV) 15:27, June 17, 2017
Ethiopia announced on Friday that its flagship Chinese-built Hawassa Industrial Park, designed and constructed according to environment-friendly principles, will be a model for other similar projects throughout the country.
The Hawassa Industrial Park, expected to be fully operational as of next week, is said to be the first Sustainable Textile and Apparel Industrial park in Africa with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities.
The east African country further hopes that the Hawassa Industrial Park, once fully operational, would help its aspiration and commitment to build a green economy.
Designed, constructed and operated as a green industrial zone, the park applies cutting edge technology to treat and recycle about 90 percent of its water usage.
Local residents walk past the Hawassa Industrial Park in Hawassa, 275 kilometres south of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on July 13, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)
Developing sustainable, world-class, specialized, export-driven and competitive industrial parks is the major target of Ethiopia’s vision for economic development, according to Arkebe Oqubay, Special Adviser to the Ethiopian Prime Minister.
Oqubay told reporters on Friday that Ethiopia’s rapid economic growth can only be sustained through the realization of a structural transformation, which requires creating a robust and competitive industrial base.
According to Oqubay, the Hawassa Industrial Park would be considered as a model for other industrial parks under construction in the east African country, in which efforts will be exerted to implement the Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD) technology to promote environmental protection.
A worker at the Hawassa Industrial Park in Hawassa, Ethiopia, on July 13, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)
Built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the Hawassa Industrial Park was completed in a record time of nine months, and was inaugurated on July 2016.
The Ethiopian government plans to construct 10 industrial parks across the country aiming to enhance job opportunities, earn revenue and promote technology transfer, said Sisay Gemechu, Ethiopia’s Industrial Parks Development Corporation CEO.
After the Hawassa Industrial Park, the government has further embarked on the development of similar parks in Kombolcha, Mekele, Kilinto, Bole Lemmi II, Dire Dawa and Adama among others, of which Mekele and Kombolcha industrial parks will soon be inaugurated.
(Source: Xinhua)