| Abstract: | The 756km Ethiopia- Djibouti railway modernization project is the first electrified railway line in East Africa that has strategically benefit for the country economy. This project was jointly owned by the government of Ethiopia and Djibouti and constructed by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. As per initial plan the project has been completed and was formally inaugurated for passenger in October 2016 and official commercial operation for both passenger and freight services commenced in January 2018, in this research using OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) evaluation criteria; the relevance, effectiveness. efficiency and sustainability aspects of the project is analyzed in detail. Descriptive research approach is selected for this study. Data is collected for the study using document review and semi-structured interview. The collected Data was analyzed and interpreted using descriptive analysis technique and earned value analysis. The study found that the project is consistent with local community need, country requirement and global priorities, and it’s achieved cost, quality and schedule requirement of the project with expected long-term benefits. Using semi-structured interview and document review the study point out that the project is providing multiple benefits for the nation in terms of time saving, reduction in road maintenance cost, fuel saving, employment generation, reduction in pollution, foreign exchange earnings and revenue generation. These benefits are accruing to government, passengers, general public and the business community at large. Based on that for recommendation the project lacks utilization of local material which could contribute something for local economy through acquisition of local material for construction projects. This might help to meet the GTP goal to transform the country’s economy into industrialization by encouraging local manufacturers and service activities. Therefore, in order to close the trade balance gap of the nation in the global trade the government should set a cap on which kind of material imported and which are manufactured locally and utilized. |
