ETHIOPIAN Railway Corporation (ERC) has awarded a $US 1.7bn contract to Yapi Merkezi, Turkey, for the construction of the first phase of a 447km north-south line.

ETHIOPIAN Railway Corporation has awarded a contract worth around $US 1.2bn to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) to build the second phase of a 657km standard-gauge electrified line between the capital Addis Ababa and the Djibouti border to replace the existing metre-gauge railway.

THE Ethiopian government has awarded China Eryuan Engineering Group a contract worth around $US 400m to build the city's 37.4km light rail network.