LEGETAFO, Oromia State | Turkish Industrial Zone | $2billion | Proposed

[enkelfam]

- 1 ሺህ ሄክታር መሬት ከሊዝ ክፍያ ነፃ እንዲሰጥ ተጠየቀ
- የኦሮሚያ ኢንቨስትመንት ኮሚሽን በካሬ ሜትር 7 ብር አቅርቧል

በጋዜጣው ሪፖርተር

አክ ጉን ኢንሳት የተባለው የቱርክ ኩባንያ በለገጣፎ እገነባለሁ ላለው የቱርክ ኢንዱስትሪ ዞን የሚሰጠውን አንድ ሺህ ሄክታር መሬት ከሊዝ ክፍያ ነፃ እንዲደረግለት ጠየቀ፡፡



የኦሮሚያ ክልል ኢንቨስትመንት ኮሚሽን በካሬ ሜትር 7 ብር እንዲከፍሉ ጠይቋል፡፡

ኩባንያው ጥያቄውን ያቀረበው ለፌዴራልና ለክልሉ መንግሥታት በላከው የኮንትራት ስምምነት ውል ረቂቅ ሰነድ ላይ ሲሆን ረቂቁ ከፌዴራል የንግድና ኢንዱስትሪ ሚኒስቴርና ከኦሮሚያ ኢንቨስትመንት ኮሚሽን በተውጣጡ ባለሙያዎች ተገምግሞ አስተያየት እንደተሰጠበት የኦሮሚያ ኢንቨስትመንት ቦርድ የይግባኝ ጉዳዮች ሥራ ፈፃሚ የሆኑት አቶ አብዱልሀኪም ሙክታር ለሪፖርተር ተናግረዋል፡፡

እንደ አቶ ሙክታር ገለፃ አክ ጉን ኢንሳት የተባለው ኩባንያ ለፌዴራል መንግሥትና ለኦሮሚያ ክልላዊ መንግሥት ኢንቨስትመንት ኮሚሽን ያቀረባቸው ጥያቄዎች የተለያዩ ናቸው፡፡

ለሁለት ተከታታይ ዓመታት የመሬት ኪራይ ነፃ እንዲደረግለትና ለፕሮጀክቱ የተጠየቀው መሬት ከሊዝ ክፍያ ነፃ እንዲሰጠው የሚጠይቀው የውል ኮንትራት ረቂቅ ለኦሮሚያ ክልል የቀረበ ሲሆን ለፌዴራል መንግሥት የቀረበው ጥያቄ ደግሞ የታክስ አከፋፈል፣ የጉምሩክ ጉዳዮች፣ የደህንነት ዋስትናና ለመሠረተ ልማት ግንባታ ከሚያስፈልገው ወጪ 30 በመቶ ያክሉ በመንግሥት እንዲሸፈን የሚጠይቅ እንደሆነ ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡ በዚህ መሠረት ለመሠረተ ልማት ግንባታ ከሚወጣው አጠቃላይ ወጪ 205,340,000 ዶላር ውስጥ መንግሥት 61 ሚሊዮን 602 ሺህ ዶላር የሚሆነውን ወጪ እንዲሸፍን በረቂቅ ሰነዱ ተጠቁሟል፡፡

ከንግድና ኢንዱስትሪ አንድ የህግ ባለሙያና ኤክስፐርት፣ ከኦሮሚያ ኢንቨስትመንት ኮሚሽን ሁለት የሕግ ባለሙያዎች ሰነዱን መርምረው የፌዴራልና የክልሉን መንግሥት ሕግ መሠረት ባደረገ መልኩ ማስተካከያ ተደርጐበት ለኦሮሚያ ክልል ፕሬዚዳንት አባዱላ ገመዳና ለፌዴራል የንግድና ኢንዲስትሪ ሚኒስትር ግርማ ብሩ መቅረቡን አቶ አብዱልሀኪም አስታውቀዋል፡፡

በኦሮሚያ ክልል በኩል ከኩባንያው ለቀረበው የሊዝ ነፃ ጥያቄ ተቀባይነት ሳያገኝ በካሬ ሜትር 7 ብር ወይም 0.54 ሣንቲም በዶላር እንዲከፍሉ በረቂቅ የኮንትራት ውሉ ላይ መገለፁን የጠቆሙት አቶ አብዱልሀኪም "እየተደረገ ያለው የድርድር ሂደት በመሆኑ ማስተካከያ የተደረገበት ረቂቅ ሰነድ ወደ ቱርክ ተልኮ ምላሽ ከተሰጠበት በኋላ ወደ ውል ስምምነቱ እናመራለን" በማለት ተናግረዋል፡፡

የቱርክ ኢንዱስትሪያል ዞን ፕሮጀክት 890 ሚሊዮን ዶላር የሚፈጅ ሲሆን ባለፈው ዓመት የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ስዩም መስፍንን ጨምሮ ከፍተኛ የፌዴራልና የክልሉ ባለሥልጣናት እንዲሁም ፕሬዚዳንቱ አባዱላ በተገኙበት ከኩባንያው ባለሀብቶች ጋር በሂልተን ሆቴል ስምምነት ማድረጋቸው ይታወሳል፡፡-

I am glad these businesses are coming, but the deals seem to be just giving shit away for free. We need good negotiators in these meetings, because it sounds like we are giving too much in these deals. Oh well, here we come globalization.

http://www.ethiopianreporter.com/ind...-10&Itemid=617

[abesha]

You know, I was discussing this with my father a few days ago and his perspective was though the deals don't favor Ethiopia right now, they can always be renegotiated in the future, after the company has invested money and time in the country.

IOW, after they set up factories and train hundreds/thousands of workers, they'll be more likely to renegotiate. Right now we need to get as much investment as we can first.

[Yoniii]

Originally Posted by abesha

You know, I was discussing this with my father a few days ago and his perspective was though the deals don't favor Ethiopia right now, they can always be renegotiated in the future, after the company has invested money and time in the country.

IOW, after they set up factories and train hundreds/thousands of workers, they'll be more likely to renegotiate. Right now we need to get as much investment as we can first.

That makes sense..

[enkelfam]

Gov’t Exhibits Zest for Turkish Zone with $600m Support
Exports of $15b, million jobs expected

The government is to contribute 600 million dollars towards the Turkish Industrial Zone to be established in Ethiopia by AKGUN Construction and Machinery, a Turkish company.
“We are already finalising the negotiation and will sign an agreement within two weeks’ time,” Tadesse Haile, state minister of Minister of Trade and Industry MoTI, said.
The money, which is 30pc of the total construction cost of two billion dollars, will pay for infrastructure development including electrical power installation, road construction, and water supply. Construction could begin this year if the company begins operation, according to its plans, in mid-2009. This company already runs an investment zone in Turkey.
The industrial zone will be constructed in Legetafo, in the Oromia Special Zone, on the outskirts of Addis Abeba. It will have a total area of 1,460ht where textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals packaging, metal, and food stuff processing industries from Turkey are expected to take plots. A total of 60 companies are expected to move to Ethiopia with the completion of the zone.
There will also be a vocational training centre to train potential employees for the companies. There are also expected to be hospitals and hotels.
The zone could create direct and indirect employment for up to one million people, according to Yusuf Akgun, AKGUN chairman.
When the industrial zone becomes fully operational, it is expected to lead to an estimated export of 15 billion dollars per year, according to CASTA Consultancy, the firm conducting the feasibility study.
http://addisfortune.com/Gov’t%20Exhibits%20Zest%20for%20Turkish%20Zone%20with%20$600m%20Support.htm

This is the kind of news that we need to see more everywhere in the country

[Jember]

Unless I am missing something, the math does not add up. You simply cannot generate $15 billion annual revenue from a $2 billion investment. Maybe they meant 15 billion birr.

[Vildana]

Originally Posted by Jember

Unless I am missing something, the math does not add up. You simply cannot generate $15 billion annual revenue from a $2 billion investment. Maybe they meant 15 billion birr.

I disagree, what Akguns main purpose here is to facilitate, building the industrial zone and managing it,there are already 60 turkish companies interested in relocating or establishing a production outpost at the site,the over all production and export potential of these companies is estimated to 15 billion dollars.This doesnt mean that the 15 bill. comes as soon as they open shop , it is a a potential estimate.
the other thing is the 2 billion is infrustructural investment ,doesnt include the cost related to relocation ,setting shope. etc
That is exactly what Akgun did in turkey,their industrial zone became one of the biggest in turkey and middeleast.

[mike7743]

I couldn't find any information on these supposed investors besides the ones published by Ethiopian sources. nothing seems legitimate. the only information I can find is about the construction company, which apparently has built a small shop in Turkey and runs a rather amateurish website. is this a joke? or a big misunderstanding on the part of Ethiopian officials. it's hard for me to think that no information can be found about an investor as "big" as this.

am I missing something? any info would be appreciated.

[desert burner]

mike same thing is happening to us the company that is undertaking massive new convention center costing 30 billion shillings in Nairobi has no website either the reason is that, sometimes we are desperate for FDI and not forgetting corruption hand that influences the ignoring of the due diligence

[Hersh]

Mike, you should probably read the following instead of letting your presumptuousness mislead you so much.

http://www.ethiopiainvestor.com/inde...tent&Itemid=88

[mike7743]

Originally Posted by Hersh

Mike, you should probably read the following instead of letting your presumptuousness mislead you so much.

http://www.ethiopiainvestor.com/inde...tent&Itemid=88

again, another poorly written article presented as a source. it's the same information as the other links presented in this very thread. no thanks, not to mention it too came from an Ethiopian publication.

I appreciate the effort in helping out or even teaching me on how to sort through information.


not!


in case reading isn't your strong point, I had trouble with the company that is supposed to be building this, not the news itself. so if you can, please provide more information on the supposed investor/company and its previous accomplishments. it's sad to throw away $5 billion dollars for nothing.

[Hersh]

Originally Posted by mike7743

again, another poorly written article presented as a source. it's the same information as the other links presented in this very thread. no thanks, not to mention it too came from an Ethiopian publication.

I appreciate the effort in helping out or even teaching me on how to sort through information.


not!

You sound bitter. If this is how you react to a friendly advice, I wonder how you take to criticism.

If it's the style of writing or its source that you have a problem with, then the very next thing you say below regarding its substance is difficult to take seriously.

in case reading isn't your strong point, I had trouble with the company that is supposed to be building this, not the news itself. so if you can, please provide more information on the supposed investor/company and its previous accomplishments. it's sad to throw away $5 billion dollars for nothing.

Lol. You speak of reading. I'd say that's quite the irony (your writing not withstanding). Perhaps I should have clarified why I posted this particular article. It's clear now that I gave your reading and comprehensive capacity too much credit. smh

So to clarify, as if it were not obvious enough, it was a matter of substance and not so much about style or some nihilistic notion that an Ethiopian source is automatically anti-factual. Since you, as you claim, were concerned about the legitimacy of those who are to be behind its construction, I gave you a link where even someone with sub-average attention to detail should have been able to see that the same people are credited for the construction of the "Ikitelli organized industrial zone" in Istanbul. It was, after all, stated in the very first sentence!

Had you gone that far and after further research concluded that there is legitimate ground to doubt the factuality of even this claim, then perhaps that would have been criticism one could respectfully address. Your instinct was to instead just jump the gun and stick to the same ignorant assumption you've held from the very beginning, with complete disregard for any new info. So for this reason, even if now you come back with some silly argument about how little info there is regarding the aforementioned industrial zone in Turkey, it can't be taken seriously.

Ciao

[mike7743]

are you serious?

you still haven't provided any link/info to prove otherwise. you just typed, typed, and typed.

oh my!

[Hersh]

Originally Posted by mike7743

are you serious?

you still haven't provided any link/info to prove otherwise. you just typed, typed, and typed.

oh my!

Your complete disregard for the info I provided you with doesn't constitute a failure on my part. I gave you the link and gave you the name of the industrial park in Istanbul. If you are suggesting that such a place does not exist, then say so.

[abnet]

seems like they sign to go ahead with construction now costing 4 billion dollars.

አኩን ኮንስትራክሽን በአራት ቢሊዮን ዶላር የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን ለማቋቋም የሚያስችል ስምምነት ተፈራረመ
አዲስ አበባ, ሰኔ 4 ቀን 2002 (አዲስ አበባ) - አኩን ኮንስትራክሽን የተባለ የቱርክ ኩባንያ በኦሮሚያ ክልል በለገጣፎ አካባቢ በአራት ቢሊዮን ዶላር ወጪ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን ለማቋቋም የሚያስችል ስምምነት ከኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ተፈራረመ።

በለገጣፎ አካባቢ ከ1ሺህ 400 ሄክታር በላይ በሆነ ቦታ ለሚቋቋመዉ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን ለማቋቋም የሚያስችለውን ስምምነት በኢትዮጵያ በኩል የፈረሙት የንግድና ኢንዱስትሪ ሚኒስትር አቶ ግርማ ብሩ ሲሆኑ፣ በኩናብያው በኩል ደግሞ የኩባንያው ባለሀብት ሚስተር የሱፍ አክጎን ናቸዉ።

አቶ ግርማ በስምምነቱ ወቅት በአገሪቱ ታሪክ በዓይነቱ የመጀመሪያዉ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን የአገሪቱን የኢንዱስትሪ ዘርፍ በማሳደግ ረገድ የሚጫወተዉ ሚና የጎላ መሆኑን ተናግረዋል።

የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ግንባታ ሲጠናቀቅ የአገሪቱን የኤክስፖርት ምርት በብዛትና በጥራት ለማሳደግ እንደሚችልና ከዉጭ የሚገቡ ምርቶችን በመቀነስ ረገድም ፋይዳዉ የላቀ እንደሆነ ማስረዳታቸውን የኢ ዜ አ ዘገባ ያመለክታል።

መንግሥት ባለሃብቶቹን ለማበረታታት የመሰረተ ልማት ግንባታ ወጪዉን 30 በመቶ ይሸፍናል።

የሚቋቋመዉ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን የአካባቢ ብክለትን መቆጣጠር እንደሚያስችል ሚኒስትሩ ገልጸዋል።

መንግሥት በኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ከሚገኘው ገቢ ከኩባንያው ጋርም የትርፍ ድርሻ እንደሚኖረውና በልማቱ ሳቢያ ከቦታው ለሚነሱ ነዋሪዎች ተገቢው የካሳ ክፍያ በመንግሥት እንደሚፈጸምም አመልክተዋል።

የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ሲቋቋም ከ800ሺህ እስከ አንድ ሚሊዬን ለሚሆኑ ወገኖች ቋሚ የሥራ ዕድል እንደሚፈጥርም ሚኒስትሩ ገልጸዋል።

የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ መቋቋም የሁለቱ አገሮችን ዲፕሎማሲያዊ ግንኙነት እንደሚያጠናክረው አቶ ግርማ ተናግረዋል።

ሚስተር አክጎን በበኩላቸዉ የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የተለዬ ክፍያ ሳይጠይቅ ወደ ሥራዉ እንድንገባ አስፈላጊዉን ትብብር ሊያደርግልን በመቻሉ ሊመሰገን ይገባል ብለዋል።

ደረጃቸዉ የተለያየ ከ1ሺ500 በላይ ኢንዱስትሪዎች በቦታዉ እንደሚገነቡ ያስረዱት ባለሃብቱ፣ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ አጠቃላይ ግንባታ ከሰባት እስከ 10 ዓመታት ይጠናቀቃል።

የአንዱስትሪ ዞኑ በጨርቃ ጨርቅ፣በብረታ ብረት፣በኬሚካል ዉጤቶች፣በምግብና በሌሎች የኢንዱስትሪ ዘርፎች እንደሚያተኩር ሚስተር አክጎን አስረድተዋል።

የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን በኢትየጵያ ብቻ ሳይሆን በአፍሪካም የመጀመሪያዉ ሊባል የሚችል እንደሆነ ባለሃብቱ ገልጸው፣ይህም የአካባቢ ጥበቃን መሰረት ያደረገና አስፈላጊዉ መሰረተ ልማት የተሟላለት እንደሚሆን አስረድተዋል።

ባለሃብቱ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ መቋቋም የኢትዮጵያና የቱርክን ግንኙነት ወደ ላቀ ደረጃ ያሸጋግራል ብለዋል።

አኩን የተባለዉ የቱርክ ኩባንያ በኢስታንቡል ግዙፍ የተባለ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን እንዳቋቋመ የኢትዮጵያ ዜና አገልግሎት ዘግቧል።

(c) The Ethiopian News Agency

[teklu]

a good start !

Wish this Turkish company's are as fast as their Chinese counter part.

[teklu]

Source: The Reporter

የቱርክ ኩባንያ ለገጣፎ ውስጥ የ20 ቢሊዮን ዶላር የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን ይገነባል

እስከ 20 ቢሊዮን ዶላር የሚሆን ወጪ የሚጠይቁ ኢንዱስትሪዎች ይገነቡበታል የተባለውና በኢትዮጵያ ትልቁን በኢንዱስትሪ መንደር ለማቋቋም የሚያስችል ስምምነት፣ በኢትዮጵያ መንግሥትና አክጉን በተባለ የቱርክ ኮንስትራክሽን ኩባንያ መካከል ተፈረመ፡፡ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑን ለማቋቋም አራት ቢሊዮን ዶላር ወጪ ይጠይቃል፡፡


በኦሮሚያ ክልላዊ መንግሥት ለገጣፎ አካባቢ ይገነባል የተባለውን የዚህን የኢንዱስትሪ መንደር ስምምነት የተፈራረሙት የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥትን በመወከል፣ የንግድና ኢንዱስትሪ ሚኒስትሩ አቶ ግርማ ብሩ ሲሆኑ፣ በአክጉን በኩል ደግሞ የኩባንያው ፕሬዚዳንት ሚስተር የሱፍ አክጉን ናቸው፡፡

አቶ ግርማ በፊርማው ሥነ ሥርዓት ላይ እንደተናገሩት፣ ስምምነት ከመደረጉ ቀደም ብሎ ለአንድ ዓመት ድርድር ሲደረግ ነበር፡፡ ድርድሩም የኢንዱስትሪ መንደሩ በምን ዓይነት መንገድ ይቋቋም የሚለው፣ በኢትዮጵያም ሆነ በቱርክ በኩል ሊደረጉ ስለሚገባቸው ዋና ዋና ጉዳዮች ላይ ስምምነት ከተደረሰ በኋላ የተፈረመ ስምምነት መሆኑነም ገልፀዋል፡፡ ይህ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞን በአገሪቱ ታሪክ የመጀመሪያው እንደሚሆንና የአገሪቱን የኢንዱስትሪ ዘርፍ ለማሳደግ ትልቅ ሚና ይኖረዋል ብለዋል፡፡

ከትናንት በስቲያ በኦሮሚያ ክልላዊ መንግሥት ጽ/ቤት በተደረገው ስምምነት ላይ የአክጉን ፕሬዚዳንት እንደገለፁት፣ የኢንዱስትሪ መንደሩ በአፍሪካ ከሚጠቀሱ የኢንዱስትሪ መንደሮች ውስጥ ትልቁ ይሆናል ብለዋል፡፡

በ1400 ሔክታር መሬት ላይ የሚቋቋመው ይህ የኢንዱስትሪ መንደር፣ 1500 ያህል ኢንዱስትሪዎች ይኖሩታል ተብሎ የታሰበ ሲሆን፣ ከ800 ሺሕ እስከ አንድ ሚሊዮን ለሚጠጉ ዜጐች የሥራ ዕድል ይፈጥራል ተብሏል፡፡

የኢንዱስትሪ መንደሩን በተመለከተ የንግድና ኢንዱስትሪ ሚ/ሩ አቶ ግርማ ብሩ እንደገለፁት፣ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ሙሉ ግንባታውን ከሰባት እስከ አሥር ዓመት ውስጥ አጠናቅቆ ወደ ሥራ ይገባል፡፡

ሚ/ር የሱፍ በበኩላቸው፣ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑን ለማቋቋም ወደ አራት ቢሊዮን ብር የሚፈጅ ሲሆን፣ በውስጡ የሚገነቡት ኢንዱስትሪዎች ወጪ ደግሞ እስከ 20 ቢሊዮን ብር ይደርሳል ብለዋል፡፡ በአፍሪካ ጭምር በትልቅነቱ የሚጠቀሰውን ይህንን የኢንዱስትሪ መንደር ለኢትዮጵያ ኢንዱስትሪና የወጪ ንግድ ዕድገት እጅግ ከፍተኛ የሆነ ጠቀሜታ ይኖረዋል ሲሉ አስታውቀዋል፡፡

በዚህ ኢንዱስትሪ ዞን ውስጥ የማይመረት የምርት ዓይነት የለም ያሉት አቶ ግርማ ብሩ፣ በተለይ አገሪቱ በወጪ ንግድ ተወዳዳሪ ትሆንባቸዋለች የሚባሉት እንደ የጨርቃ ጨርቅ፣ የብረታ ብረት፣ የኬሚካልና የምግብ ኢንዱስትሪዎች በዚህ መንደር ውስጥ ይካተታሉ፡፡ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ሲጠናቀቅ የኤክስፖርት ምርቶችን በብዛትና በጥራት በማምረት፣ ከውጭ የሚገቡ ምርቶችን መቀነስ ይቻላል ብለዋል፡፡

ለዚህ ኢንዱስትሪ ዞን መቋቋም ትልቁን አስተዋፅኦ አበርክተዋል የተባሉት የኦሮሚያ ክልል ፕሬዚዳንት አቶ አባ ዱላ ገመዳም፣ ለኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ግንባታ የሚያስፈልገው ቦታ እጅግ ባነሰ የሊዝ ዋጋ ይሰጣል ብለዋል፡፡

"ከዚህም ሌላ እንዲህ ዓይነቱን ትልቅ ኢንዱስትሪ ዕውን ማድረግ የመንግሥት ትልቁ ራዕይ ነው" ሲሉ አቶ አባዱላ ለሪፖርተር ገልፀዋል፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት በኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ውስጥ ኢንቨስት የሚያደርጉ ባለሀብቶችን ለማበረታታት በግንባታው ወቅት የአጠቃላይ ወጪወን 30 በመቶ ለመሸፈን ቃል ገብቷል፡፡

ሚስተር የሱፍ አክጉን፣ የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የተለየ ክፍያ ሳይጠይቅ ኩባንያቸው ወደሥራ እንዲገባ ላደረገው ከፍተኛ ትብብር ምሥጋናቸውን አቅርበዋል፡፡

በፊርማው ሥነ ሥርዓት ላይ እንደተገለጸው፣ መንግሥት ከኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑ ከሚገኘው ገቢ ከቱርኩ ኩባንያ ጋር የትርፍ ድርሻ ይኖረዋል፡፡ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኑን ለመገንባት ሲባል ለሚፈናቀሉ የአካባቢው ነዋሪዎች አስፈላጊው ክፍያ እንደሚፈጸም ቃል ተገብቷል፡፡

[xratttx]

-Now,i just wanted to clear some stuff up guys.I am not an offical mouth but i was there when Mr.Girma Birru was giving information to the people that wanna join the zone.(He was in Turkey,i guess it was 17th june,the deal was signed way before that)
-This is going to be pretty big for Ethio(Ethiopia?I really dont know wich you would preffer)
-The Akgün group is not amatuer at ALL!So you can count on that %1000000!Mr.Akgün is currently chairman in Turkish organized zone wich is the biggest of Turkey and Middle East.He knows how things work and what he should do.
-They are fast and best at what they do,they actually started taking investments on june 18th right after the meeting.(from the people who wanna take a part in the zone)

[Hersh]

You won't convince mike as his disagreement isn't a disagreement of reason but of defiance.

[abesha]

Interview on Reporter with Yusuf Akgun. Those Habesha reporters need to learn how to ask proper questions.

Founded in 2006 in Istanbul, Turkey, AKGÜN İNŞAAT (Akgün Construction) is a company engaged in providing various kinds of constriction services for corporations, including restoration works.

In addition, it carries out the fair stand applications and corporate branch applications of banks by applying the latest technology in the construction sector. The company recently concluded an agreement with the Ethiopian government for the construction of the largest industry zone in Ethiopia around Legetafo town in Oromia Regional state, which is expected to have a substantial contribution in boosting the country's export.


Currently, Akgün Construction is undertaking the construction of a general hospital around Burayu town in the Finfinne Special Zone of the Oromia Regional State. The hospital, which is expected to rest on a 10-hectare plot, will have a nursing school and 15 to 20 operation theatres. It will employ the services of a team of professionals from Istanbul who will be in Ethiopia for a short period of time to participate in the hospital project, which is expected to start service in less than three years. Yusuf Akgün, a Turkish investor and president of Akgün Construction, is working together with his three sons to realize this project.

With immense experience in the construction field, mostly in Europe, he spent time with Tamiru Tsige and talked about his plans to execute the project. Akgün hopes that the government of Ethiopia will extend the necessary support for the project. Excerpts:

You have waited a long time to finalize the Legetafo project. What do you feel?

The Legetafo project started on November 13, 2008 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with his Excellency Abadula Gemeda, president of the Oromia Regional State. In Turkey, I have already established organized industry zones in four cities. The one in Istanbul is the biggest one and rests on seventy-thousand hectares; I established and manage it myself.

How big is the Legetafo project and how much capital has been allocated?

Legetafo's first phase covers around 1,460 hectares but we have a reserved area of around three thousand hectares. We expect the infrastructure plus construction cost to be around five billion dollars.

Has the Ethiopian government agreed to put in place the necessary infrastructure like telecommunications and electricity services?

We expect the infrastructure cost to be around one billion dollars. The Ethiopian government has already supported us by covering 30 percent of the cost. If we can’t get support it will be difficult for us to realize this project. In the future the government will benefit from this project.

When do you expect to acquire the land?

According to the agreement, first we have to secure finance, which will take a year. Then will have to pay compensation to people that will be displaced from the land. The construction will start after the government clears the land and gives it to us.

I know you have got good experience in establishing industry zones in Turkey. How easy will it be to get the finance for these big projects?

I believe that it will take us a maximum of two years to get the finance for these projects.

And I would like to mention that, before the signing ceremony which was a year ago, we started negotiations with finance groups. So, I believe that we will face no difficulty getting the finance.

What benefits will Ethiopia get from the implementation of this project?

First, I would like to thank all the people who have shown great enthusiasm for this project in Ethiopia. Once the project is implemented, Ethiopia will have its first organized industry. It is not like the ones that existed before in Addis Ababa where the settlement of some of the factories was wrong.

Moreover, this project will be for all Africans. It will help the country and the public to bring about quality in production. It will also increase export earnings. In addition, it will attract foreign investors and to these investors we have to supply skilled manpower. In order to create that, we have already started building the capacity of our manpower.

Furthermore, the project will also incorporate an exhibition center as well as conference halls. We are placing special emphasis on these since they can do well not only by the country but also the region. We have come here with the technology and the knowhow.

We expect the industry zone to create over one million jobs in the first and second phases. Generally, there will be quality in the manufacturing sector and in the future Ethiopian goods will be of high quality.

Do you have enough water and power supply for all the projects?


The government has already guaranteed the supply of abundant energy. Still, we have our own plans for the future. We will start to generate our own electricity. As for water we will dig deep water holes in the industry zone.

How much attention have you given to ensuring that the project is environmentally friendly? Do you have plans to use renewable energy?

The project will be environmentally friendly. For example, we have plans to collect the drainage water in one place using filtering system, which will make the water safe for drinking. It can also be used to water plants and trees. We will also be recycling byproducts. Pipes and other kinds of metals that are going to be dumped from industry zone will be recycled. It will be 100 percent environmentally-friendly.

As regards using renewable energy, our first choice is wind energy. Second choice is solar energy. And if we can not realize this, we will turn to other sources like hydro.

What about the hospital project in Burayu? Where is the financing coming from?

The budget is around 175 million dollars. Normally for hospitals, this is not the case. But this one will be a medical complex, not just a hospital. The finance will come from all sources of Akgün. It is not going to be from the Ethiopian government or from Ethiopian banks. It is only from our own source.

Many Ethiopians spend a lot of money to get medical treatment in Thailand, South Africa the US and other countries. Will the hospital provide an alternative for this, both from economic and health perspectives?

This hospital will be better than the ones that you find in Dubai, Bangkok or other countries. It will be more economical and affordable by the Ethiopian public. The hospital will employ the latest technology. We will have the same if not a better hospital from the ones abroad. Do not doubt this.

How do you feel about playing the role of bringing Turkey and Ethiopia together?

This project has already built a bridge between Turkey and Ethiopia that will be beneficial for both countries. This can be considered as a major success. We are trying to do our best for both countries. Previously, people in Turkey did not know much about Ethiopia. But now they will start to know. In the future, Turkish media outlets will be reporting extensively about Ethiopia. The establishment of a Turkish industry zone is going to be a big commercial start. We will responsibly execute our duties and finalize the project properly.

You have lots of experience in the construction sector in Europe, particularly in Germany and Turkey. Could we expect the same level of effectiveness in Ethiopia?

We have adequate experience. By employing Turkish technology and engineers, we are going to have high quality construction in Ethiopia. After one year you will see the results.

Any final words?

So far, things are going well. We will work hard to realize the project. Finally, I would like to thank the Prime Minister, the president of the Oromia Regional State, the minister of trade and industry, the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of defense, the minister of finance and economic development, the ambassador of Ethiopia to Turkey and state ministers. All of them visited our industrial zone and played a major role in persuading us to come and work here. After all this, we have come to finalize it. This will be very good for both Turkey and Ethiopia.

http://ethiopianreporter.com/english...iew&Itemid=518

The more I read about this project, the more positive I am about it.

[Yoniii]

It all sounds really good, but some statements like the one below makes me not trust them.

Many Ethiopians spend a lot of money to get medical treatment in Thailand, South Africa the US and other countries. Will the hospital provide an alternative for this, both from economic and health perspectives?

This hospital will be better than the ones that you find in Dubai, Bangkok or other countries. It will be more economical and affordable by the Ethiopian public. The hospital will employ the latest technology. We will have the same if not a better hospital from the ones abroad. Do not doubt this.