Ethiopia: Large textile factory opens near Addis Ababa
A giant textile factory, established with an investment of over 100 million dollars, was inaugurated on Friday, April 30, reports Capital. The Prime Minster, other Ministers and government officials attended the event in Alem Gena, which is around 20 kilometres west of Addis Ababa.
During the inaugural ceremony, Girma Birru, Minister of Trade and Industry, said that the beginning of production by the factory will play a major role in strengthening the country's textile manufacturing value chain. The factory in Alem Gena is expected to manufacture 70 million dollars worth of goods per annum.
The site is said to be the biggest integrated textile factory in sub-Saharan Africa. The spinning and knitting factories are already active and a dyeing factory also started operation in December 2009.
When the factory operates at full capacity it is expected to employ more than 10,000 workers. AYKA Textile Industry came to Ethiopia after lucrative offers of cheaper labour and incentives from the government, including 15,000 square meters of land.
AYKA also has plans to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to obtain duty free access to the US.
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