Addis-Modjo Edible Oil Complex Agrees 8m Br Compensation With Railway Corporation

The Addis-Modjo Edible Oil Complex has received eight million Birr in compensation from the Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) for the demolition of warehouses and network lines in its plant, on Debre Zeit Road, near the Gotera Interchange.

Construction of the light railway project – an electric railway system for the capital, overseen by the Ethiopian Railway Corporation – began in January 2012. The system, estimated to cost 475 million dollars, is expected to transport 80,000 passengers each hour.

The project will lay down a total of 34.25Km of railway line, on two separate routes. The North-South route will begin from Menilik II Square and end at Kaliti, while the East-West route will connect Ayat Village to Tor Hailoch. Additional lines from Menilik II Square to Shiro Meda, to the North; Kaliti to Gelan, to the South and Tor Hailoch to Lebu, to the South West, will be added to the design at a later stage.

The Corporation initially offered the company seven million Birr against Modjo’s demand of 25 million Br, according to sources – a figure that Modjo declined to confirm. However, the two settled for eight million Birr after some negotiation.

“We are content with the amount,” said an official from Modjo, contacted by Fortune on Wednesday, November 27, 2013.

Ever since the Addis Abeba Light Railway project commenced, the demolition of structures has continued in parallel with the laying of the rails. Close to 8,000sqm plots inside the 30,000sqm area in Modjo’s plant in Addis Abeba had to be demolished for the passage of railway bridges.

On Wednesday, newly built pillars of the railway bridge could be seen near the demolished warehouse. Daily labourers were doing construction work within the premises of the compound.

“We do not have any problems with damages that came because of development works,” the official said.

The official declined to comment on any further questions from Fortune.

Currently, the Addis Modjo Edible Oil Complex runs as one of the corporate institutions under the Amibira Business Group. They acquired it from the Privatisation & Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) back in 2008, for 76 million Br. The complex uses cotton seed as a raw material, creating a market for the cotton farms, as well strengthening its input supply by being a sister company to the farms.

The Amibira Business group was founded by Abdul Latif Omar, who died in January 2010. The group also runs nine additional businesses in agriculture, service, manufacturing and trade.
Source: Addis Fortune