Date: 13 March 2021
Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minster of Ethiopia and other senior government officials have inaugurated a second Integrated Agro-Industrial Park (IAIP) in Yirgalem, in the south-central Sidama state.
Over 3,000 participants attended, including representatives of the European Union delegation, the UN country team, farmers’ unions, and the private sector, as well as community leaders.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister stated that he was delighted to see such huge potential for national as well as international markets. He visited the first three of the 11 production facilities in the IAIP that are occupied by investors: the Sunvado Avocado Oil Company, Doely Processing, and Hebron Coffee.
With a total investment of over US$60m, the Yirgalem Integrated Agro-Industrial Park is located on 294 hectares and is expected to create direct jobs for more than 100,000 people, and indirect jobs for more than 400,000 people.
UNIDO has being supporting Ethiopia in the development of the IAIPs programme since its inception, in close coordination with other development partners including, the FAO, AfDB, EU, AICS and BMZ, within the framework of the PCP Ethiopia. The inauguration of the Yirgalem IAIP comes after the Bure IAIP in Amhara was inaugurated in February 2021. The Bulbula IAIP in Oromia and Baeker IAIP in Tigray will be inaugurated in the coming months. The IAIP initiative is expected to help drive the structural transformation of the economy and support the country in reaching its Vision 2025 goal of becoming a light-manufacturing hub in Africa.
