Following the eviction of the Italian occupiers, the Imperial Ethiopian Government was convinced that a Road Agency solely responsible for rehabilitating/restoring and expanding the road network throughout the country had to be established and the Ethiopian Roads Agency was the result.

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Operating in a country known for its less than stellar economic strength and political unrest, in 1980, the military Government that took power in 1974 reformed the agency into the

Ethiopian Transport Construction Authority (ETCA) whereby it became answerable to the newly formed Ministry of Construction. The proclamation enlarged responsibility of the Authority by expanding its task to incorporate the construction of Airports, Seaports, Railways and Municipal Roads.

To cope with the ever-shifting situations, ERA was again re-established in the late 90s, with the objective to develop and administer highways and to ensure the standard of road construction. With the establishment of the new cabinet of Ministers in October 2001, a Ministry of Infrastructure and later on, Ministry of Works and Urban Development, was formed with the responsibility of developing the infrastructure of the nation. ERA, which is one of the organisations under the Ministry of Works and Urban Development and accountable to the Board, is responsible for planning and formulating long and short-term plans and programmes for road construction, design, maintenance of trunk and major link roads, as well as for administration of contracts.

As it stands today the current responsibilities of ERA are network planning, management of contract projects and force account operations. As well as guiding their staff towards the Vision 2028, which sees the provision of adequate, reliable, high quality and standard road network to Ethiopians it will open up all potential development areas, which will contribute to fast socio-economic development all over the country and provide better roads for a better Ethiopia.

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Much the same as the roads throughout Ethiopia, the journey they have taken to where they are today has been anything but smooth. Shifting through different personas and states, the agency has appeared in many guises. It has always been semi-autonomous, from its first days as the Imperial Highway Authority where it was responsible for the planning, designing, constructing and maintaining of the roads. During the late 70s the company was re-established as the Ethiopian Road Authority, where it incorporated the Rural Roads Department and the Highway Department.

Founded in 1988, Abulkhase P.L.C. along with its sibling company Abadir Enterprise were the first businesses in the region to supply quality materials and equipment throughout a range of industries across Ethiopia. Relying on the expertise sourced from over 27 years the company maintains a leading edge on the industry and maintains successful supplier relations with businesses in South America, Europe and the Far East. Devoted to the growth of the Ethiopian industry, Abulkhase P.L.C. is an active owner in the Ethio-Danish joint venture of Engsko Ethiopia manufacturing and trading P.L.C., which was created to meet the local and global demand of grinding mill stones. The industry has grown over the last 27 years and continues to rise. The customer focus which has created such a firm reputation originates from a company ethic focussed on providing not only the best front end sale to their customers but offering the most efficient aftersales service possible for all equipment and goods. Supplied through a dedicated staff of mechanics working from a 60sqm workshop alongside sales executives and field trained professionals, Abulkhase P.L.C. has been able to overtake their competition and establish themselves as one of the industry’s market leaders. Moreover, through the excellent level of communication and relations that it maintains, Abulkhase P.L.C. is known for providing the full range of parts and components of all the equipment and materials it houses under its portfolio. Its vast client base indicates that Abulkhase P.L.C. has grown in reputation for the trust that it has established in its clients through its aftersales and ethical approach. To further

its commitment to its esteemed client base and as a reliable supplier, it provides an adequate stock of all the items that it houses under its portfolio.Over this, it values a face to face approach when it comes to working with and liaising with clients and customers and is a regular attendee and supporter of exhibition and trade shows where the business aims to expand its reach to its existing and prospective client base. As such, Abulkhase P.L.C. takes part in all major trade fairs including EthioCon and HPP exhibitions where it showcases its wide range of new construction, agricultural and industrial equipment and solutions.Their involvement with such businesses as the Ethiopian Road Authority spans a number of different sectors, offering a range of essential services and machinery. As pioneers in their field, Abulkhase P.L.C. have become the first name to call when it comes to serious projects driven by people with vision. As one of the companies adding to the economic and production growth that is being seen in Ethiopia today, Abulkhaze P.L.C. understand that their involvement in local projects today will help sustain the continued expansion and growth of businesses tomorrow. Heavily involved in providing the machines with which roads are laid, buildings are constructed and crops harvested, they are literally shaping what the future Ethiopia will look like.

ABULKHASE P.L.C.

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had to offer the work to foreign contractors and the share of local contractors in the road construction market was only 5%.

“Thanks to the Government and RSDP, the capacity building programmes competitiveness of local contractors has progressively increased and market share for local contractors has now risen to 62% in the year 2010,” Samson reveals.

Increased market share by local contractors demonstrates that competitiveness and capacity within the domestic road construction market has improved. The number of road projects awarded to local contractors has increased significantly from year 1999 to 2010. The total value of construction contracts awarded to local contractors throughout the RSDP is ETB 21 billion.

Local consultants have increasingly been involved in road sector development by supervising implementation of road projects and conducting road design and other studies. The market share for local consultants has increased from 19% in 1999 to 74% in the year 2010. The total contract value awarded to local consultants from 1999 to 2010 was ETB 1.6 billion. Moreover, local consultants participate in projects that have been conducted by foreign consultants, by providing local expertise.

Five years on, the impact of the programme to increase the capacity of the domestic construction industry is encouraging. Specifically, participation of the local contracting industry has

THE BIG GOALFor any city to thrive it needs solid infrastructure and its alarming

how little development can occur if road networks are not available and reliably maintained. The Government of Ethiopia envisions the country joining the middle-income level within the next two decades, which is a mission that places more responsibility onto the shoulders of the Road Agency than may be initially apparent.

Since 1997 the Road Sector Development Programme has been recognised as an essential input to the Government’s effort in reviving the economy and its ability to integrate the country towards becoming a stronger nation and more importantly, improving the quality of life for all Ethiopians.

Samson Wondimu says, “Today, our limited infrastructure has shown improvement compared to the situation in 1990s, but the sustained growth acquires some serious rethinking about the way we deliver services, manage and maintain the roads system that the country needs. On the other hand, the Ethiopian Roads Authority, after 60 years, must be a lean and efficient organisation primed for the challenges of the new Ethiopian Millennium.”

He goes on to explain that in building their history and profiting from their limited successes, they have to move forward with a new and refined vision to better serve their customers, which in their case are the people who use the road network for commuting between work and home, businesses using it to transport cargo and goods and to create a better network for businesses to grow.

Better schools to help form young minds into experienced tradespeople, better businesses with stronger ambitions and greater opportunities, more work for local suppliers and greater prospects for the future all start with a great road network.

“Ethiopia has a vision of joining middle-income countries by 2028,” Samson says “Hence, the country needs to increase its road network from 49,000 km (in 2010) to 201,750 km by 2028. For this vision to come true, a need for well-organised and strong local road construction industry is inevitable.”

However, the Domestic Construction Industry (DCI) has not yet fully developed to support the road construction needs of the country and many of the local contractors are new entrants to the industry, facing several constraints such as shortage of capital, equipment and human resources.

“The low price offered for construction is also one of the reasons for unsatisfactory performance of the contractors,” he explains, “Moreover, Rural Roads Agencies and DMOs have limited capacity both from the human element and technical perspectives to play a big role in the process of improving the sector. To encourage local contractors into the sector, the Government introduced the minimum capital requirement.”

This has blunted the double-edged sword that was causing the issue. There was a shortage of skilled staff, at least in part due to the lack of reliable infrastructure for students in rural communities to get to school and training academies. This directly impacted on the ability to offer contracts to local suppliers. Instead they

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increased, in terms of both the value and number of projects, over the last 18 years of the RSDP. Local contractors are mostly involved in projects financed by the GOE and while local involvement on larger construction contracts is still marginal, some local contractors are now taking bigger contracts, with values amounting to as much as ETB 825 million. ERA is carrying out a small number of civil works by its own force account, particularly in areas where the private industry is not willing to work.

PROJECTSA handful of major projects are keeping ERA very busy. The

$612m Addis Adaba Adama (Nazareth) expressway is an under-construction expressway in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia and will be the first expressway in Ethiopia and East Africa, when complete, representing a turn in the continent’s future and also the first toll road in the nation. The new expressway connects the capital city Addis Adaba to Adama (Nazareth).

Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has awarded a £151 million project to four companies, one local and three foreign and subsequently signed a contract on March 21, 2015.

“It’s important to put yourself on the map,” Samson says, “You need roads to do that.”