ADDIS ABABA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has generated 83 million U.S. dollars in export revenue from commodities produced across its special economic zones (SEZs) during the past nine months, the Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) said in a statement Thursday.
Manufacturing companies operating in these zones exported goods worth 83 million dollars during the first nine months of the 2024/2025 Ethiopian fiscal year, which began on July 8, the statement noted.
Fisseha Yitagesu, chief executive officer of the IPDC, said SEZs are playing an increasingly vital role in driving export growth, creating jobs, and supporting import substitution.
Yitagesu emphasized that SEZs are injecting a substantial boost to the country's economy by saving essential foreign currency through import substitution with locally produced goods, ultimately saving close to 12 billion Ethiopian birr (about 89.9 million U.S. dollars) during the reported period.
Most of Ethiopia's SEZs have been developed by Chinese firms, while Chinese investors remain the largest group of foreign operators within these industrial zones.
Recent data from the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) showed that China has remained a leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ethiopia, with over 4,500 Chinese-run projects currently operating in the East African country.
Ethiopia attracted 3.92 billion dollars in FDI during the last fiscal year that ended on July 7, 2024, with Chinese investment accounting for nearly half of the total inflows, the EIC said.
