ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia will commission Chinese-built Kilinto industrial park which will host pharmaceutical companies in March 2018, an Ethiopian official said on Sunday.

Speaking to journalists, Getahun Agenew, project manager at Kilinto industrial park, said 75 percent of the project had been completed.

The industrial park lying on 270 hectares of land is being constructed by China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd (CTCEGCL) at a cost of $204 million. The World Bank is wholly financing the construction of the industrial park through a loan scheme.

Kilinto industrial park, when completed, will encompass 18 km of asphalt roads, provision of basic social services, green spaces, warehouses, business centers and car parking space.

Ethiopia is currently constructing or has commissioned 15 industrial parks as part of plan to turn the country into a light manufacturing hub in Africa by 2020.