50 Turkish Textile Factories to Relocate in Ethiopia

Following the proposal of Ayka Addis, the Turkish garment firm, to establish an Industrial Zone and bring a total of 50 Turkish textile companies to Ethiopia, the government has been working to allocate land to establish the zone.

The construction, to be overseen by Ayka Addis, will involve several five-storey buildings will be rent out or sold to the new comers. Construction will be carried out in three phases.

Mr. Tadesse Haile, State Minister of Industry, says one plot has already been allotted. He described the plans as “a big plus for the industry and will significantly contribute to the government’s plan to double the export revenue in the coming budget year”.

General Manager of Ayka Addis, Mr. Turkoglu, said that the company had been a Turkish international garment firm for more than 25 years and it was in close contact with all the major garment manufacturers in Turkey.

He said there were discussions with them for most of the last two years and “most are willing to relocate at the earliest possible moment.” The relocation of the companies is expected to allow for the creation of two billion dollars in export revenue per annum and create more than 60,000 job opportunities.

Ayka inaugurated its factory at a cost of $140 million at Alemgena, 20km west of Addis Ababa, in 2010, creating jobs for more than 10,000 people. It has the capacity to export textile products worth $100 million a year per annum.

The Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute says other textile companies are preparing to go into production, including MNS Textile Company and S.V.P which are installing their factories around Addis Ababa with an outlay of over one billion birr.

Source: “Ethiopian Radio and Television”