Addis Ababa — :A Grant Agreement amounting to 730 million US dollars was signed between the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank to support the Horn of Africa Regional Economic Corridor Project under the Ethio-Djibouti Corridor.

Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide and Regional Integration Director of the World Bank Boutheina Guermaz signed the agreement virtually on Sunday.

The agreement will enhance the connectivity and logistics performance of Ethiopia along the strategic Addis-Djibouti road corridor, which handles more than 90 percent of Ethiopia's maritime trade, accordion to ministry of Finance.

Accordingly, the project finances the construction of 142 kilometers of road from Miesso to Dire Dawa, improving its quality and safety, reducing travel time and costs, and increasing the transport capacity and efficiency.

The project will also support local communities along the road section area by constructing infrastructures to improve access to education, health and water, as well as linking them to the main corridor by constructing secondary roads.

The project is part of the Horn of Africa (HoA) Initiative, a regional partnership platform that promotes integration among others, through infrastructure development, linking to one of the priority corridors identified under the Initiatives, the Djibouti- Berbera corridor.

During the signing ceremony, Minister Ahmed Shide thanked the World Bank for the bold support and reiterated Ethiopia's commitment to regional integration.

"As a current Chair of the HoA Initiative and Finance Minister, I strongly believe that infrastructure development is essential for achieving long-term growth and stability in our region," Ahmed said.