Ethio-Djibouti Railway (EDR) disclosed that it has earned close to 3 billion Birr in revenue in the first nine months of the current Ethiopian fiscal year.
Approached by the Ethiopian News Agency, the CEO of Ethio-Djibouti Railway, Abdi Zenebe revealed that the income has a 67 million Birr increase compared to the same period last year.
According to him, Ethio-Djibouti Railway has thus generated 2.84 billion Birr income from railway services over the past nine months.
Highlighting the EDR’s impressive financial performance, the CEO stated that it has successfully attained its revenue targets in the stated period with a three percent growth rate compared to the previous year.
“The revenue collection for the past nine months demonstrated an increase of 67 million Birr, representing a three percent growth rate compared to the 2.17 billion Birr collected during the same period last year,” Abdi said.
Given the significant revenue growth of the previous nine months, the CEO is convinced that the income would play a paramount role in sustaining the company’s operations and contributing to the overall development of the transportation sphere.
Abdi also shared details about EDR’s performance in passenger and cargo transportation, adding that the company managed to transport over 148,600 passengers during the past nine months.
“In nine months, the number of passengers to different destinations has increased by 19,664. This is a 15 percent growth compared to the same period of the previous year’s figure of 129,000 passengers,” he said.
Despite facing challenges such as shunting locomotive breakdowns, gantry crane outages, and the security situation in the Red Sea area, EDR successfully transported 1.442 million tons of incoming and outgoing cargo.
Acknowledging the hurdles, Abdi commended the resilience and dedication of the entire team for overcoming these obstacles and ensuring the smooth flow of goods.
Looking ahead, he emphasized EDR’s commitment to addressing key areas of concern, including the acquisition of spare parts, foreign currency fluctuations, logistical resource shortages, and the absence of an automated office system.
“We recognize the hurdles we have overcome, and we are fully dedicated to implementing necessary measures to ensure seamless operations and continued growth,” the CEO Pledged.
Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway Share Company (Ethio-Djibouti Railway /EDR) was established in April 2017, based on the Bilateral Agreement signed between Ethiopia and Djibouti with an initial capital investment of 500 Million USD, it was indicated.
The company has embarked on passenger and freight transport services since 1st January 2018.
The Ethio–Djibouti Railway line also extends 756 Kilometers, and owns 35 Electric locomotives, 6 diesel shunting locomotives, 30 passenger coaches, and 1,100 freight wagons.
Source: ENA
