President underscores infrastructure gap top most challenge for Africa’s economic growth, social progress

ቀን: Dec 29, 2022

President Sahilework Zewdie said infrastructure gap in Africa has remained the top most challenge toward bringing about sustainable economic growth and social progress across the continent.

The president made the remark on 08^th Nov. 2022 while opening the 6^th African Engineering Conference and 8^th Edition of African Engineering Week here in Addis Ababa at Science and Technology museum.

Africa, as continent of huge infrastructure deficit, has a number of priority areas to be addressed toward ensuring sustainable development, but the issue of expanding the necessary infrastructure remained the top most priority, the president underscored.

Her Excellency Sahlework Zewdie said experts in all fields shall have conversations of such a kind and exchange experiences in order to solve problems and thereby ensure the kind of Africa we want. 

Addressing the conference President of Ethiopian  Association of Civil Engineers, Eng. Yonas Ayalew said since every development endeavor is linked with availability of basic structure needs of the society, researchers, contribution to excel existing knowledge and creating news ways of doing things has a paramount importance.

He said Africa’s shortcoming in the area of infrastructure development shall be resolved through full-fledged and coordinated and coordinated efforts of all concerned bodies engaged in the sector.       

The conference, which is organized by the Ethiopian Association of Civil Engineers(EACE) in collaboration with Federation of African Engineering Organization (FAEO) and World Federation of Engineering Organization (WFEO) under the theme “Accelerating Sustainable Infrastructure Development in Africa Together”, is expected to dwell on various issues related to engineering and construction endeavors in the coming three days.

GERD showcases Ethiopia’s commitment toward regional integration

ቀን: Dec 29, 2022

Minister of Defense, Dr. Abrham Belay said the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) indicates that Ethiopia is keen to forge strong economic cooperation among the Nile riparian countries.

While receiving the participants of the 6^th African Engineers Conference at the headquarters of the National Defense Forces on 08 Nov. 2022, Dr. Abrham said GERD would enable the nation build economic cooperation among the neighboring countries as it would be the cheapest, dependable and environmentally-friendly electric power source.

The minister, who is also a renowned engineer by profession, reiterated to participants the international stakeholders shall come to Ethiopia and invest in alternative power sources as the nation is endowed with immense potential for water, wind, solar and geothermal energy sources.

Asked about the shortcomings of hydropower plants, the minister said the only limitation of such projects is that it requires huge financial resource for installation of equipment as well as for displacing and rehabilitation of communities living within the project site.

The GERD project is a testimonial for displaying the wonders of the various engineering fields of study, thereby underscoring the indispensible role of such professionals toward bringing about development and social progress.

The GERD, which has already began generating over 500 mw power to date, is capable of producing some 6,000 mw power up on going fully operational.

The guests appreciated the head office of the Ethiopian Defense forces, which is locally called the Headquarters of the East African countries and named by vising American officials as “a better facility than the Pentagon itself”.

ECWC, AASTU Ink MoU

ቀን: Dec 9, 2022

Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation (ECWC), and the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU) signed on 01 Dec. 2020 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in a bid to work together on construction quality assurance and technology expansion endeavors.

According to the agreement, the Corporation will work together with the University, especially with the Construction Quality and Technology Excellence Center, toward improving the construction sector in general and in quality assurance and technology transfer activities in particular.

At a ceremony held here in the headquarters of the Corporation, Corporation Chief Executive Officer Eng. Yonas Ayalew and Dr. Abraham Debebe, Vice President of the Research and Technology Transfer of the University signed the accord on behalf of their institutions.

After signing the accord, Engineer Yonas said the corporation is desirous to work with the university in human resource development activities as the university is aspiring to be a hub of science and technology in general and center of excellence in construction quality and technology expansion works.

The university may organize tailored trainings on construction quality assurance and technology transfer endeavors, he said, adding the corporation will play its level best toward strengthening cooperation between the two state-owned institutions.

Vice President of the Research and Technology Transfer with the University, Dr. Abraham Debebe said on his part the university, as a host of eight centers of excellence, is willing to forge mutual cooperation with governmental organizations toward bring about overall development and social progress across the nation.