cari_pb52_chenethiopiarailwaytechtransfer-67af3e62717d4b95.pdf

This policy brief examines the development of railway infrastructure in Ethiopia, comparing the Chinese-funded Addis Ababa-Djibouti standard gauge railway (SGR) with the Turkish-built Awash-Kombolcha-Hara Gebeya/Weldiya (AKH) line. It analyzes the trade-offs between different financing models, the effectiveness of technology transfer and capacity building, and the role of Ethiopian government agency in project design.

• The Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, completed in 2018, was funded by a US$ 2.49 billion commercial loan from China Eximbank. It is the first fully electrified railway in Africa, though its reliance on hydroelectric power delayed commercial operations until January 2018.
• The Awash-Kombolcha-Hara Gebeya/Weldiya (AKH) line was contracted to the Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi in 2013 with a total loan of US$ 1.1 billion from Turkish Eximbank, Credit Suisse, and other European agencies. While completed in 2019, the second segment to Mekele has stalled due to a lack of financing.
• There is a significant technological divergence in signaling systems between the two lines: the Chinese-built railway uses the Chinese train control system (CTCS), while the AKH line uses the more advanced European ERMTS Level 1. This creates logistical challenges for integration regarding hardware, onboard equipment, and staff training.
• Chinese development finance provided greater repayment flexibility than private commercial finance. In 2018, Ethiopia was permitted to delay railway loan repayments for one year during foreign exchange shortages, and the SGR loan repayment period was subsequently restructured from 10 to 30 years.
• While China provided a coordinated package of finance, construction, and training—including university exchanges in Tianjin and Chengdu—ERC staff reported that capacity building during the actual construction phase fell short of expectations. In contrast, the Turkish project implemented a systematic training schedule that aggressively trained approximately 40 ERC engineers on site.
• Language barriers significantly hindered technology transfer in the Chinese project, as technical documents and blueprints were often untranslated. The Turkish project had a training advantage because its working language was English and documents were translated for ERC staff.
• Ethiopian government agency in project design led to specific operational issues. The decision to omit fencing on the Addis-Djibouti route to save costs and maintain community access resulted in frequent livestock collisions and forced reductions in train speed.
• The Addis-Djibouti railway has struggled to meet its goals as an instrument of industrialization. As of early 2019, approximately 95 percent of the railway's cargo volume consisted of imported goods from the port, with very little cargo moving in the opposite direction.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). cari_pb52_chenethiopiarailwaytechtransfer-67af3e62717d4b95.pdf. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CARI_PB52_ChenEthiopiaRailwayTechTransfer.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. cari_pb52_chenethiopiarailwaytechtransfer-67af3e62717d4b95.pdf. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CARI_PB52_ChenEthiopiaRailwayTechTransfer.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=cari_pb52_chenethiopiarailwaytechtransfer-67af3e62717d4b95.pdf |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CARI_PB52_ChenEthiopiaRailwayTechTransfer.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsndcaripb52chenethiopiarailwaytechtransfer67af3e62717d4b95pdf, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{cari\_pb52\_chenethiopiarailwaytechtransfer-67af3e62717d4b95.pdf}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CARI_PB52_ChenEthiopiaRailwayTechTransfer.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }