Ethiopia: ERA Revokes Keangnam’s Award for Meki-Zeway Expressway

The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has revoked the award given to Keangnam Enterprises Limited and has issued a re-bid for Meki- Zeway section of the Modjo- Hawassa Expressway project.

The cancellation comes after a warning from the Export- Import Bank of Korea, the entity financing the road project.

The project is worth USD 100 million, will be only open for bidding by Korean construction companies, according of the bid announcement published on the Ethiopian Herald on August 5.

Lately, the Export- Import Bank of Korea evaluated Keangnam’s capacity in Ethiopia and suggested that ERA cancels the agreement.

It was in February 2015 that ERA announced it had selected Keangnam to construct the 37 kilometer road. The road was expected to begin this budget year.

Keangnam Enterprises is under investigation on suspicion of embezzlement in its country, South Korea. It allegedly misappropriated USD nine million out of the USD 31 million it received from overseas projects, which were mostly funded by the Export- Import Bank of Korea.

The 209 kilometer Modjo- Hawassa Expressway to be constructed in a number phases will link the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPR) capital of Hawassa to central Ethiopia with a toll road.

Source: allAfrica.com