PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF INDUSTRIAL PARK DEVELOPMENT IN ETHIOPIA: THE CASE OF BOLE LEMI INDUSTRIAL PARK, ADDIS ABABA

Abstract

The topic prospects and challenges of industrial park development in Ethiopia: the case of Bole Lemi Industrial Park have been not widely explored as an area of study. Some studies have tried to identify the challenges of industrial park development in Bole Lemi. However, with industrial park prospects, there have been many divergent findings due to different variables exhibiting different behaviors and models that attempt to assess factors that affect the employment creation potential of Bole Lemi Industrial parks. The objective of this study was to assess the prospects and challenges of industrial park development with specific reference to, the Bole Lemi industry park. A quantitative research design and explanatory research approaches were used. Primary data was collected using a five-point Likert scale and open-ended questions also structured interviews with managers and experienced experts. The study had a 97.96% response rate. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was employed to analyze the data. And it was found that the overall mean score of, challenges of access to the market in Industry Park, challenges of government policy in Industry Park, challenges of technology in Industry Park, an obstacle to job creation in Industry Park, and infrastructure in Industry Park ranges between 4.35 and 2.93 which show the higher level of agreement of respondents. The correlation result indicates a high level of association between the independent and dependent variables. The R2 value of the dependent variable park performance and independent variables were found 0.766 and 0.757. The result suggested availability and quality of labor force, infrastructure and service, park location, and government policies and strategies are a direct effect on park performance and determine the performance of Bole Lemi industrial park. Based on the finding from the study to improve the performance of Bole Lemi industrial park working on this independent variable may maintain its productivity and effectiveness.