The construction of the Tanabeles Hydroelectric power project is being speeded up, the manager said. Kifle Haro told ENA that the construction of the 460 MW project is expected to be finalized in mid 2009. The work on the construction project is progressing on schedule, he said. Some 79 percent of the construction of the project is expected to be finalized this year. So far, 70 percent of the construction of the project has been completed, Kifle said.

Union makes 62mln birr gross profit

The Sulula Boset Mineral Extractors Union said it has made a gross profit of over 62.5 million birr from the sale of minerals during the past ten months. Union general manager Lemma Dadi told WIC that the union acquired the stated sum by supplying over 1.4 million cu. m. of sand, stone, brick and various minerals to market. Half of the members of the preliminary associations embraced by the union have reportedly become self-reliant, some of even embarking upon investment activities, he said. Established with 860,000 birr capital a year and half a ago, the union has currently over 188,000 members.

Egyptian company to supply electrical equipment worth over USD 7.4 m/n

The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) and an Egyptian company called El Sewedy Electric have signed and agreement that would enable the latter to supply electrical equipment worth to USD 74.9 million to the former. According to ENA, Mihret Debebe, managing director of EEPCo, said the projects would benefit rural towns and villages in Somali, Oromia and Harari states. The equipment would be used for the implementation of Melkawakana-Ramo-Gode-and Harar-Fiq power transmission projects. The company would supply the electrical equipment over a period of 15 months.

Consumers should develop bargaining capacity to mitigate price hike: Economic advisor

Consumers should play their level best in controlling the ever-increasing price of commodities across the nation through developing their capacity in bargaining, the economic advisor of the Prime Minister underscored. The economic advisor with the rank of a minister, Niway Gebreab, said the market should be determined through competition and bargaining capacity of consumers, businesspersons, and the farmers. According to ENA, the official made the statement on Saturday at a half-day panel discussion held in Mekele, Tigray under the theme “Commodity Price Hike and the Ethiopian Economy.”

Consumers should set the market system based on free competition and the purchasing power of the society since the system could not be determined by a single segment of the society, according to the advisor. Administering the market without competition remains illegal, he said, adding that consumers shall fight artificial price hike through their institutions established to stabilize the market. The existing price hike will be resolved only through bringing about rapid and sustainable economic growth, according to the economic advisor. Though the price of food grain in Ethiopia is less than that on the international market, the livelihood of the society is destabilized at present since 57 percent of its income goes to the purchase of food grain.

Bureau finalizes plans to transplant over 240mln coffee seedlings

The Oromia State Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau said it had finalized preparations to transplant more than 240 million tree seedlings during the coming rainy season. Bureau Coffee Development and Production Processing Manager Dechasa Dugasa told WIC that the trees would be transplanted on 45,000 hectares of land. The bureau had also paid serious attention to pruning works as some 70 percent of the coffee trees in the state are old, the manager said.

Seeds procured at a cost of 30 million birr have been distributed to farmers so as to transplant over 255 million seedlings next year, he added. Some 80 percent of the coffee seedlings would be nurtured on the plots of farmers, and the rest on government plots, Dechasa added. Some 60 percent of the coffee the country exports overseas come from Oromia State, it was pointed out. The state supplied 145,000 tonnes of coffee to the central market last year and efforts are being also made to supply over 180,000 tonnes this budget year, he concluded.