# Ethiopia, Djibouti take over 752 km railway management

> Wardheer News reported on 2024-05-12 that Chinese management contractors handed the 752 km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway to Ethiopia and Djibouti.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 30 September 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Infrastructure and Services
- Tags: roads, procurement, project-management
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/ethiopia-djibouti-take-over-railway-management

## Key points

- On 12 May 2024, Wardheer News reported, citing Xinhua, that Chinese management contractors handed over management and operation of the 752 km Ethiopia-Djibouti standard gauge railway.
- The report says the handover happened at a ceremony at Lebu Railway Station in Addis Ababa on Friday 10 May 2024, attended by senior Ethiopian and Djiboutian officials.
- No source in the report states a project cost, contract value or financial terms, and no evidence after the ceremony is provided.

On 12 May 2024, Wardheer News reported, citing Xinhua, that Chinese management contractors handed over management and operation of the Ethiopia-Djibouti standard gauge railway to Ethiopia and Djibouti after six years of operation. The report describes the event as a "Turnkey Ceremony" held on Friday 10 May 2024 at Lebu Railway Station in Addis Ababa, attended by senior Ethiopian and Djiboutian government officials, the Chinese diplomatic community in Ethiopia, and the management contractor.

The same report says the railway is 752 km long and electrified. It states that operation started in January 2018, attributing that to Ethiopia's Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime. No source in the report states what has happened at or to the railway since the 10 May 2024 ceremony, so the current management, staffing and performance of the line after the handover are not established by the material available.

The article does not state a construction contract value, total project cost, ownership split or the financial terms of the handover.

## What the officials said

Alemu Sime said the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway's completion and operation enhanced trade and ties between the two countries, and that the line facilitated efficient goods transport under the Chinese management contractor, reducing costs, according to Wardheer News.

Abdi Zenebe, chief executive officer of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDR), described the railway as a manifestation of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and a mutually beneficial cooperation platform. He said EDR was born out of a vision for progress, prosperity and regional integration, and reaffirmed continued efforts to enhance its capacity building program, according to the report. That statement is a forward-looking commitment, not a record of completed action.

Djibouti's Minister of Infrastructure and Equipment Hassan Houmed said the railway reduced transport time and cost and contributed to employment creation, and that its transport system enabled Djibouti to decongest its port, according to Wardheer News.

## Contractor figures, and their limits

The report cites data from the Chinese management contractor showing over 2,500 passenger trains and a passenger volume of 680,000 in six years, and over 7,700 freight trains with a cargo volume of 9.5 million tonnes in the same period. It also cites the contractor saying 2,840 people have been trained and certified, with localization of all railway professions in operation, maintenance and safety management, and that leadership training was arranged for around 200 middle and senior management personnel, with some 100 local managers further trained in China.

Those figures come from the contractor, not from an independent or official statistical source, and the report gives no baseline or methodology for them. The same applies to the reported statement that freight transport time between Ethiopia and Djibouti fell from more than three days to less than 20 hours, and that cost fell by at least one-third; no currency, cost basis or source for that reduction is stated. The report also says the railway employs more than 3,000 local staff and has fully localized its workforce, without a date or attribution for the figure.

On the corridor's weight, Wardheer News reports that about 90 percent of Ethiopia's import and export passes through the Ethiopia-Djibouti trade corridor, and notes that Ethiopia, as a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, accesses international maritime trade through ports in neighbouring countries. It does not give a source for the 90 percent share.

The report says China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation constructed the railway and maintained it with China Railway Engineering Corporation, citing Guo Chongfeng, chief executive of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation's Ethiopian branch. It does not say the handover ended all Chinese involvement in the railway.

## Questions

### Who now operates the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway?

Wardheer News reported on 2024-05-12 that Chinese management contractors handed over management and operation of the railway to Ethiopia and Djibouti at a ceremony on 10 May 2024. No evidence in the report establishes what has happened at the railway since.

### What are the financial terms of the handover?

The report does not state a construction contract value, total project cost, ownership split or any financial terms of the handover.

### What traffic has the railway carried?

The report cites data from the Chinese management contractor of over 2,500 passenger trains with 680,000 passengers and over 7,700 freight trains with 9.5 million tonnes of cargo over six years. Those figures are contractor-supplied, not independently verified or official statistics.

## Sources

- [Ethiopia, Djibouti embark on management, operation of Chinese-built railway](https://wardheernews.com/ethiopia-djibouti-embark-on-management-operation-of-chinese-built-railway/) — Wardheer News, 2024-05-12