Meron Tekleberhan
Ethiopia is to suspend the provision of new
land for agricultural investment after a study that showed more than 50% of the
land in the hands of investors is yet to be utilized according to the Ministry
of Agriculture.
The ministry has issued licenses to more than
11,773 domestic and international investors with a total registered capital of
132 billion birr, but just 5,284 of these have began operations according to
Tarekegn Tsige, Head of Public Relations with the ministry.
The ministry has not taken the appropriate
measures against inactive investors because it is aware that the land it had
provided was by and large inconvenient for the immediate launch of operations
due to the poor infrastructure and clearing work required before investors
could implement their project he said.
Even so the ministry has repossessed some
lands and that has decided to suspend providing land plots to investors until
it can further determine the effective use of the land already supplied for investment
purposes explained Tarekegn.
In spite of this however the ministry is
encouraged that there are many investors who launched operations successfully
on more than 2.2 million hectares of land claimed Tarekegn. Of the 2.2 million
hectares 567,651 hectares is being developed by international investors he
added.
Ethiopia offers various incentives to
international investors including tax exemption for a certain grace period, the
availability of bank loans, tax free import of equipment and low rates of land
lease noted Tarekegn.
Source: Ethiopian Press Agency
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