The Brazilian Development Bank is giving US$1 billion in funding to Ethiopia for the construction of a railway that would extend existing lines to a connection with South Sudan. This project was confirmed by a Foreign Ministry official of Brazil.

The firm to build the link is Andrade Gutierrez Participacoes SA of Brazil that would connect the Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa with Jimma in South Sudan. The total length of the railway is 439 kilometers or 273 miles to the soutwest, according to Taye Atskeselassie, the Ministry's director general for the Americas during an interview last May 24.

Atskeselassie said that the bank is 'willing to finance the project' after Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailermariam Desalegn. He added, "The technical side has been finalized, it's only the financing part; it's a matter of the details." He quipped, construction would begin 'soon'.

Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa and is seeking funds to construct 4,744 kilometers of electrified railway lines that would cost 110.8 billion birr or US$5.9 billion. The country's economic growth has been slow at 6.5% this year and is projected to remain the same next year. According to the International Monetary Fund, the country's average in the past five years has been at 8.7%.