Ethiopian, Russian Agree to Manufacture Hydro Electric Power-Driven Buses
Addis Ababa, 14 November: Afro-Asia Technical Trading Enterprise and two Russian companies signed an agreement providing for the assembling and manufacturing of hydro electric power-driven buses here at Ethiopian Investment Agency on Tuesday [14 November].
The accord was signed by Afro-Asia Technical Trading Enterprise general manager, Engineer Getachew Eshetu, Trolza Company president, Pavel Berlin, and Rus-Afro-trol board head, Ayavazov Yury.
According to the agreement a company called Rus-Afro-trol would be established in a joint venture to assemble and promote the buses in Ethiopia and Africa as well.
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, Engineer Getachew said the buses would be the first in Africa.
The total capital of the project is 100m US dollar, he said, and added, that some 43 hectares of land has already been prepared to establish the assembling plant in Debremarkos town of the Amhara State [northwestern Ethiopia].
Getachew said the project would be started as of next January and assembling of the first buses would be finalized in six months time. Afro-Asia Technical Trading Enterprise has 70 per cent ownership share of the company, while 30 per cent of the ownership belongs to the Russian companies, he said. The company has a capacity of assembling 500 buses per year, he said. When the project goes fully operational, it would create 500 jobs, Getachew added.
Speaking on his part, Pavel Berlin said the hydro power driven buses are environment-friendly and efficient in fuel consumption. The company has decided to erect the first plant in Ethiopia as it is the hub of Africa, he said, adding, the company has a plan to expand the service to other African countries in the future.
Speaking at the occasion Ethiopian Investment Agency director general, Abi Woldemeskel, said as Ethiopia is endowed with immense hydroelectric power the launching of the project is viable both economically and environmentally.
He said the agency would render the necessary assistance for the success of the project.
(c) 2006 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: BBC Monitoring Africa
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
New 5-Star Hotel to Usher in Ethiopian Millennium
Hayal Alemayehu
Addis Ababa
Sporting a swimming pool at its top tenth floor, the first part of a new 400 million birr five-star hotel - Intercontinental Addis - will open its door for services before the New Ethiopian Millennium sets in, Project Manager Gudeta Regasa disclosed to The Daily Monitor.
The first phase of the hotel project, whose construction commenced ten months earlier at a 2346 square meters plot of land located around Kasanchese, in Kirkose sub-city, Kebele 17, will be completed in few months' time if all goes according to plan, Gudeta said.
Projected to consume 200 million birr, the hotel's first phase project will be a ten-story high building, which will have 151 rooms and suites, five restaurants, discotheque, gyms, sauna & steam baths, and Jacuzzis, with all the facilities meeting an international five-star hotel category standards, according to the Manager.
Compared to existing hotels in the country, Intercontinental Addis will, according to the Project Manager, entertain unique features which include transparent elevators, a tenth-floor swimming pool with a bar that serves customers while inside the pool, rooms and suites all operating with electronic-locking solution cards.
Presently, there are only two five-star hotels in the country, namely Sheraton Addis and Addis Ababa Hilton.
The new hotel, destined to be the third five-star resort in the country, is being erected and owned by J.H. Simex plc, a private local company active in export/import trade.
Upon completion of the first phase of the project, the hotel will start rendering services, while its second phase, which is also projected to cost 200 million birr, will commence, according to Company Proprietor Simachew Kebede.
2006 The Daily Monitor
Addis Ababa
Sporting a swimming pool at its top tenth floor, the first part of a new 400 million birr five-star hotel - Intercontinental Addis - will open its door for services before the New Ethiopian Millennium sets in, Project Manager Gudeta Regasa disclosed to The Daily Monitor.
The first phase of the hotel project, whose construction commenced ten months earlier at a 2346 square meters plot of land located around Kasanchese, in Kirkose sub-city, Kebele 17, will be completed in few months' time if all goes according to plan, Gudeta said.
Projected to consume 200 million birr, the hotel's first phase project will be a ten-story high building, which will have 151 rooms and suites, five restaurants, discotheque, gyms, sauna & steam baths, and Jacuzzis, with all the facilities meeting an international five-star hotel category standards, according to the Manager.
Compared to existing hotels in the country, Intercontinental Addis will, according to the Project Manager, entertain unique features which include transparent elevators, a tenth-floor swimming pool with a bar that serves customers while inside the pool, rooms and suites all operating with electronic-locking solution cards.
Presently, there are only two five-star hotels in the country, namely Sheraton Addis and Addis Ababa Hilton.
The new hotel, destined to be the third five-star resort in the country, is being erected and owned by J.H. Simex plc, a private local company active in export/import trade.
Upon completion of the first phase of the project, the hotel will start rendering services, while its second phase, which is also projected to cost 200 million birr, will commence, according to Company Proprietor Simachew Kebede.
2006 The Daily Monitor
Ethiopian Employees Elect New Board Reps
Feven Chane
The Ethiopian Airlines Board of Directors, on October 26, 2006, saw the replacement of three labour representatives who had served on the Board for the past five years.
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In accordance to elections that are held every five years, the employees voted-in were Reta Melaku and Theodros Balcha, both instructors from the Aviation Maintenance Training School (AMTS) and Alemayehu Assefa, IT System and operation manager.
They replace outgoing representatives Biniam Hirabo, director of Spray Service; Matewos Menu, director of Material Management and Girma Kumbi, a foreman in Aircraft Maintenance.
The election, which was organized by the Human Resources Department, took place at the Ethiopian Conference Centre on Algeria Avenue in Sidist Kilo.
A source from the Ethiopian Airlines Labour Union told Fortune that anyone that has worked with the Airline for a reasonable length of time and has good knowledge on the working environment of the entire operation in addition to their own line of responsibility are eligible for nomination.
The three outgoing representatives came to the job with more than 20 years of work experience with Ethiopian.
Matewos told Fortune that during the five years that he and his colleagues served on the 11-member Board - chaired by Seyoum Mesfin, Minister of Foreign Affairs - they had been able to play an important role in achieving a 20pc growth in the Airlines' profit and also managed to secure a 60pc salary increase for its employees over the span of two years. A 40pc raise was given in the fiscal year 2003 - 2004 and a 20pc increase in 2004 -2005.
He claimed that the Board was also responsible for having Ethiopian awarded the Best Airline Performance in Africa by The Africa Aviation Journal in 2006 and moreover oversaw the construction of the new cargo terminal from November 2003 to January 2006, as well as approved the purchase of the five Boeing Dreamliner aircrafts.
"We have fulfilled all of this during the past five years, which were the best performance years in the Airline's history. We leave our positions very much delighted," Matewos said.
The labour representatives on the Board serve as a managing body and are involved in handling large scale employee cases and incidents.
The Labour Union handles cases concerning labour rights and privileges. It ensures employee safety provision while on the job and salary increment. The union has 10 executive members and 10 general assembly members, with a reshuffle held every three years.
A member of the Union told Fortune that when conflicts of interest between them and the management arises; he said that in such incidents, they can call on the Board to find a resolution to the matter at hand.An Ethiopian Airlines staff member told Fortune that he believed that more ideas can be received from the new representatives, because two of them are instructors who interact with a wide spectrum of employees.
Also, this employee said, Theodros has been a member of the Labour Union this has proved himself to be a responsible worker. He said that he also felt confident because all three members were socially very active with the employees as well as the management.
Ethiopian Airlines was founded in 1945 and currently has 4,762 employees working in Ethiopia alone.
© 2006 Addis Fortune.
The Ethiopian Airlines Board of Directors, on October 26, 2006, saw the replacement of three labour representatives who had served on the Board for the past five years.
In accordance to elections that are held every five years, the employees voted-in were Reta Melaku and Theodros Balcha, both instructors from the Aviation Maintenance Training School (AMTS) and Alemayehu Assefa, IT System and operation manager.
They replace outgoing representatives Biniam Hirabo, director of Spray Service; Matewos Menu, director of Material Management and Girma Kumbi, a foreman in Aircraft Maintenance.
The election, which was organized by the Human Resources Department, took place at the Ethiopian Conference Centre on Algeria Avenue in Sidist Kilo.
A source from the Ethiopian Airlines Labour Union told Fortune that anyone that has worked with the Airline for a reasonable length of time and has good knowledge on the working environment of the entire operation in addition to their own line of responsibility are eligible for nomination.
The three outgoing representatives came to the job with more than 20 years of work experience with Ethiopian.
Matewos told Fortune that during the five years that he and his colleagues served on the 11-member Board - chaired by Seyoum Mesfin, Minister of Foreign Affairs - they had been able to play an important role in achieving a 20pc growth in the Airlines' profit and also managed to secure a 60pc salary increase for its employees over the span of two years. A 40pc raise was given in the fiscal year 2003 - 2004 and a 20pc increase in 2004 -2005.
He claimed that the Board was also responsible for having Ethiopian awarded the Best Airline Performance in Africa by The Africa Aviation Journal in 2006 and moreover oversaw the construction of the new cargo terminal from November 2003 to January 2006, as well as approved the purchase of the five Boeing Dreamliner aircrafts.
"We have fulfilled all of this during the past five years, which were the best performance years in the Airline's history. We leave our positions very much delighted," Matewos said.
The labour representatives on the Board serve as a managing body and are involved in handling large scale employee cases and incidents.
The Labour Union handles cases concerning labour rights and privileges. It ensures employee safety provision while on the job and salary increment. The union has 10 executive members and 10 general assembly members, with a reshuffle held every three years.
A member of the Union told Fortune that when conflicts of interest between them and the management arises; he said that in such incidents, they can call on the Board to find a resolution to the matter at hand.An Ethiopian Airlines staff member told Fortune that he believed that more ideas can be received from the new representatives, because two of them are instructors who interact with a wide spectrum of employees.
Also, this employee said, Theodros has been a member of the Labour Union this has proved himself to be a responsible worker. He said that he also felt confident because all three members were socially very active with the employees as well as the management.
Ethiopian Airlines was founded in 1945 and currently has 4,762 employees working in Ethiopia alone.
© 2006 Addis Fortune.
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