OPERATION of the 781 km metre gauge Djibouti-Ethiopian Railway linking Djibouti with Addis Abeba is to be transferred to the private sector. The two governments decided last month to call for expressions of interest, and prequalification documents must be submitted by May 30.
The concessionaire must set up a private joint stock company under Ethiopian law and will be responsible for freight and passenger services as well as maintenance and renewal of infrastructure. The brief includes ’development of infrastructure and procurement of additional rolling stock’.
Consultants from SNCF International were to start work last month under a technical assistance deal to oversee the introduction of an automated wagon tracking system. n
