A contract worth 210 million euros was signed Friday between the French fitter and manufacturer of wind mills, Vergnet and the national electricity company of Ethiopia during the visit to Ethiopia, of Mrs. Anne-Marie Idrac, French Secretary of State in chThe project relates to the sale and installation of 120 wind mills of 1 MW (mega
watts) over three years in the area of Tigray located in the northern part of
Ethiopia which will provide electricity to more than five million
Ethiopians.
Ethiopia, which has nearly 75 million inhabitants, seeks to
increase its energy independence to cope with the rise of its local demand and
wishes to become a supplier of electricity for the bordering
countries.
At a meeting, Idrac and the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles
Zenawi, were delight ed with the signing of the contract, which opens a new era
in the economic relationship between the two countries and laid the objective of
trippling the investments and the exchanges as soon as possible, indicated an
official statement of the French Foreign Trade St ate secretariat.