Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks at the launching ceremony of the construction of a Chinese-contracted economic city in Addis Ababapacmanarcademachineoriginal, Ethiopia, on Augpacmanarcademachineoriginal. 14, 2024. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday launched the construction of a Chinese-contracted economic city, known as "Addis Tomorrow Special Economic Zone," at the heart of Addis Ababa, the country's capital. (Xinhua/Liu Fangqiang)

ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday launched the construction of a Chinese-contracted economic city, known as "Addis Tomorrow Special Economic Zone," at the heart of Addis Ababa, the country's capital.

The launching ceremony came a year after the Addis Ababa City Administration and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) inked a deal to build the economic city, with a planned area of 35 hectares, at an estimated cost of 700 million U.S. dollars.

Speaking at the event, Abiy said the economic city is part of the government's commitment to transforming Addis Ababa into one of the most beautiful cities in the world by building smart communities with various facilities, including residential houses, shopping malls, hotels, and recreational centers.

"This is the start of our big dream of making Addis Ababa attractive as its name 'New Flower' refers to, and my gratitude goes to CCCC and the city administration for kicking start this project," Abiy said.

According to the prime minister, the Addis Tomorrow Special Economic Zone will be connected to other economic areas whose constructions are underway in other parts of the capital through the ongoing Addis Ababa corridor development.

"CCCC has proved to be successful in its undertakings in Ethiopia, and I hope it will finalize the construction of the economic city on time and up to (a) high standard," Abiy said.

Adanech Abiebie, mayor of Addis Ababa, said the development of the economic city is part of the administration's move to change the image of the city, improve the lives of people, create enormous job opportunities, and provide high-standard housing facilities.

"We choose CCCC as a contracting company, acknowledging that it has a successful track record in accomplishing big projects in Ethiopia and abroad and delivering them in time and up to their high qualities," Abiebie said, noting that long-standing economic cooperation between Ethiopia and China is gaining momentum.

Chen Zhong, deputy general manager of CCCC, vowed to deliver the project ahead of time in a way that promotes cooperation and the transformation of knowledge.

"We will provide the wisdom, resources, solution and proposal of CCCC to benefit the government and people of Ethiopia," said Chen, highlighting that the economic city will help create a people-oriented, modern and healthy Addis Ababa.■