The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has disclosed that its performance over the past nine months has hit 88 per cent of the set target for the period.
Construction, renovation and other road projects undertaken in the reported period consumed more than 15 billion Birr, according to Samson Wondimu, ERA Public Relation Director.
Samson told ENA that the authority has constructed 1,733 kilometers of the planned 1,896 kilometers of road while it renovated 13,406 kilometers of roads from the targeted 15,326 kilometers.
He pointed out Humbo-Arba Minch, Lumame-Debremarkos, Hagere Mariam- Yabelo among the big road projects opened to traffic over the past nine months.
Currently, more than 25 billion Birr has been put aside for new road projects stretching up to 1,500 kilometers across the nation including the Konso-Yabelo, Efeson-Mehal Meda, Morcho-Dimtu Betena and Sodo-Tercha-Omo road projects.
It was indicated that a range of stakeholders received capacity building trainings to upgrade their road construction capacity and modernize the sector.
The authority has offered scholarships to 4,000 engineers with a view to fill gaps in skilled labor, logistics and road management.
According to Samson, the authority is also working on other problems of management and maladministration.
ERA has identified critical issues of reparation, border demarcation, road safety and others as problems which affect activities in the roads construction sector.
