Chinese group Huajian Group signed an agreement with Ethiopian authorities on May 30, 2019, for the management of Jimma industrial park.
In the framework of that agreement, the Chinese group will invest $100 million in the construction of shoe manufacturing and coffee processing plants. The agreement also includes setting up a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) center.
It will also help attract other Chinese groups in this 75-hectare park. Lelise Neme, managing director of the Ethiopia Industrial Parks Development Corporation, indicated that Jimma park would create 15,000 jobs in the long term.
Built by the China Communications Construction Company, Jimma industrial park was inaugurated in December 2018 by Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed.
Huajian Group has been operating in Ethiopia since 2011. It already has two shoe manufacturing plants that produce 5 million pairs yearly and employ more than 7,000 people.
