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Ethiopia
says Djibouti scraps port
tariffs plan
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 ADDIS
ABABA(August 19,2008) - Djibouti
has dropped plans to raise port tariffs that would have cost land-locked
Ethiopia an extra $22 million a year, the government in Addis Ababa
said on Monday.
The Red Sea state has been Ethiopia's main gateway for imports and
exports since it lost the ports of Assab and Masawa when Eritrea won
its independence in 1991.
"The Ethiopian government has been notified that the proposed
tariff raise has been waived indefinitely," Ethiopia's Ministry
of Transport and Communication said in a statement, adding the tariff
had been due to take effect on Aug. 15.
"Had the tariff increment become effective, Ethiopia would have
paid an additional $22 million on top of the $300 million it is paying
a year to Djibouti port for handling 4.6 million tonnes of goods annually."
Ethiopian government sources said Djibouti's decision to scrap the
plans followed a visit by Djiboutian President Omar Ismail Guelleh
to Addis Ababa last month.
During that trip, Ethiopia gave Guelleh large tracts of land for wheat
farming and a lakeside holiday home, officials said.
Djiboutian officials could not be reached for comment. |
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