Ethiopia Makes History in Airfreight Logistics
Ethiopia has become the first African nation to chair the global airfreight institute that promotes international air cargo.
The annual congress of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the global logistics association, has also approved the chairmanship of Ethiopia for its regional wing.
On the congress of FIATA held two weeks ago, Ethiopia was elected to chair one of the four FIATA’s regional wing, Region Africa and Middle East (RAME), and the Airfreight Institute (AFI).
According to Ethiopian Freight forwarders and Shipping Agents Association (EFFSAA), who is member of FIATA, two Ethiopians have been nominated by the association to chair the international associations.
It was stated that the competition to get the position for AFI was very tough since the interest from western countries was very high, while Ethiopia successfully secured the post with higher vote.
As a result, the former president of EFFSAA, Salahadin Khalifa, and the current vice president of EFFSAA, Dawit Wubshet have been nominated by the association for RAME and AFI respectively.
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- https://www.capitalethiopia.com/feature/ethiopia-makes-history-in-airfreight-logistics/
- https://ethiopianreporter.com/article/23958
Dire Dawa Dry Port nears commissioning
The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise (ESLSE) disclosed that the Dire Dawa Dry Port is slated to go into operation in January 2022.
Roba Megeresa, CEO of ESLSE, told that the construction took over two billion birr and was completed on schedule.
The Enterprise also disclosed of two freight warehouses it financed near Mojo Dry Port at a cost of over 98 million birr, which have been completed and are ready to handle bulk cargoes beginning this December.
The warehouses will mainly stock imported fertilizer before it is distributed to farmers. Each warehouse rests on an area of 1,600 meters square and can store 100,000 quintals of bulk cargoes such as soil fertilizers.
The enterprise has planned to construct new warehouses in various parts of the country in collaboration with private and foreign investors. It has also completed a feasibility study for the construction of a dry port in Jimma. Preparations are underway to hand over the land. The construction of large warehouses is expected to be one of the main works in the dry port.
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Electronic Single Window saves Ethiopia 70 billion birr
Ethiopia saves around 70 billion birr from Jan 4, 2020 up to now by using the Electronic Single Window (ESW) program.
As part of the government’s commitment to improve investment and trade, the Ethiopian Customs Commission developed an electronic single window (ESW) for trade with the help of the World Bank Group.
The platform that will enhance efficiency in the trade logistics landscape of the country by speeding the customs process for importers and exporters was described by Robel Tesfaye, Program Director of Ethiopian Electronics Single Window Program Office, as system that has been able to minimize import release time from 44 day to about 12 days.
“We are able to reduce time to process a single permit from 30 days to 2.5 days and 55 autonomous organizations out of 73 expected organizations are able to process traders’ permit requests using our system,” elaborated Robel.
According to Robel, by making the procedure predictable and reachable by deploying new technologies, the E-service has spared the traders from wasting their time saving the country 70 billion birr within one and half years.
The Ethiopian Electronic Single Window is a program office that is aimed to conduct various single window related projects, which consists of 6 complementary projects, namely: The Ethiopian Electronic Single Window Software project – Phase I, The Advancement Software project, Software Consultancy, Network Infrastructure and Data Center Development project, Integrated Cyber Security Consultancy Project, The Ethiopian Electronic Single Window Software project – Phase II, and the EDF 11 – Trade Facilitation project.
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Berbera-Togochale Road project nears completion
85 percent of the construction of the cross-boundary road project which links Somaliland’s port city of Berbera with Ethiopia’s border town of Togochale has been completed.
The road is expected to make Somaliland an emerging competitor, along with Djibouti and Kenya, in attracting Ethiopian importers and exporters. The completion of the road is also expected to boost the trade volume between Ethiopia and Somaliland by 30 percent.
The 234-kilometer highway road project, which consists of three phases, is planned to be completed by the end of 2022.
The Berbera – Hargeisa Road is scheduled to be completed by April 2022, the road from Kalabaydh – Wuchale by July 2022 and the Hargeisa bypass will be completed in July 2022.
The USD 400 million project kicked off in 2019 with funds from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK).
According to the agreement between Ethiopia, Somaliland and DP World, Ethiopia owns 19 percent of shares in Berbera port, which will be managed and developed by DP on a concession of 30 years. DP will take the ownership share of 51 percent and Somaliland will own 30 percent of the shares.
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National Warehouse Receipt System officially launched
Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration launches a national Warehouse Receipt System /WRS/, a legal regulatory framework for licensing and overseeing warehouses that can store the product of farmers and other value chain actors. The ministry has launched the system after 18 years since the Warehouse Receipt System Proclamation was legislated in 2003.
“Modernizing the marketing system in the agricultural sector, improving product quality and reducing waste as well as improving access to finance are work needed to be done to increase productivity. In this regard, as the experience of many countries shows that Warehouse Receipt System is a modern system to reduce the problems in the trading system and for the farmers as well to create a better financial supply for agricultural producers,” said Endalew Mekonnen State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration on the launching event held on Friday November 26, 2021 at Hyatt regency hotel.
The regulatory body will be established under the Ministry and be tasked with supervising the development of the warehouse receipt system and issue a certificate of competence to warehouse operators, inspectors and agricultural product certifiers.
The regulator will also have an advisory board, which will be comprised of representatives from the ministries of Trade & Industry and Agriculture, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the Ethiopian Standards Agency, the Federal Cooperatives Agency, the Ethiopian Bankers Association, the Association of Microfinance Institutions and the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Association.
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Ethiopian Airlines Wins ‘Best African Airline’ Award at the 2021 Business Traveller Awards
Africa’s largest aviation group, Ethiopian Airlines, has been crowned as the ‘Best African Airline’ at the 2021 Business Traveller Awards. The votes made by the business travellers for this year took into account the COVID period with key questions covering airlines’ effectiveness in communication, effective implementation of COVID precautionary measures, handling of loyalty program member passengers and flexibility of ticket changes. The questions for the survey allowed passengers to reflect on their experience before and during the various stages of COVID crisis.
Regarding the award, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said “We are delighted to win this prestigious award as it is the reflection of our customers’ satisfaction which shows the success of our daily efforts to deliver superior customer services at all points of contact with our customers. The award is a testament of the extra hard work and care exerted by each and every one of our more than 17,000 coworkers to ensure our customer’s delight, safety, comfort and convenience every single day. Our esteemed customers have appreciated the extra bio safety we have been providing during the global pandemic crisis which has been the most challenging time for the world in general and our industry in particular.
Ethiopian Airlines has never stopped operations during the pandemic and has been serving its customers through repatriation and shipment of essential medical supplies across the globe. The airline garnered international support and commendations for the crucial role it played in the global fight against the pandemic.
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Djibouti’s flagship port sees fast construction progress
The leadership of Damerjog Liquid Bulk Port (DLBP), another logistics flagship project for Djibouti and region, announces that its project is on great track to be accomplished before the deadline.
On his latest project update presentation, Houssein Ahmed, CEO of DLBP, said that the project that commenced about a year ago has recorded swift progress and is set to finalize earlier than the schedule timeframe. He said that so far the DLBP project that is in Djibouti Damerjog Industrial Park (DDIP), which is carried out by the Moroccan civil engineering firm, Somagec which specializes in port infrastructure, is in good progress.
It is designed for the berthing of two ships – one capable of accommodating vessels of up to 100,000 DWT and the second is for vessels between up to 30,000 DWT, with an annual throughput capacity of over 13 Million tons.
The Damerjog Oil Port is one of the phases of DDIP intended to ensure Djibouti’s industrial development. The rest include the ongoing construction of Djibouti Liquefied Natural Gas port, a USD 4 billion project consisting of an 800-km pipeline that will connect the gas extraction areas in Ethiopia’s Ogaden basin to the coast of Djibouti, as well as a gas liquefaction plant and export terminal. The plant has a capacity to export three million tonnes of natural gas per year. The export terminal will be able to handle LNG carriers with a capacity of up to 267,000 cubic metres.
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China overtakes Japan to become No 1 ship owning nation
China has overtaken Japan to become the No. 1 ship owning nation with assets of over $191 billion.
“China owns the largest number of containers and, consequently, the recent surge in rates and values has moved them up the ranks to top spot in terms of fleet value,” VesselsValue, a leading online valuation and market intelligence provider for the aviation and maritime industries, said in its latest report.
“The increase in rates has also prompted an ordering spree across the container sector, as owners’ confidence in the market exploded. A total of 516 containers have been ordered since January 2021, and 46 percent of these orders were placed by Chinese companies including OOCL, SITC and COSCO Shipping.”
Japan has dropped to second place, owning a total of $187 billion in assets. “This is an increase of over $70 billion since January 2021, highlighting the booming bulker, LPG, and vehicle carrier markets. Out of the top 10 nations, Japan owns the highest value LPG fleet at $7.4 billion.”
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