ADDIS ABABA - A cornerstone laying ceremony was held on Tuesday in Ethiopia's eastern city, Dire Dawa for a textile plant that will be built with an investment of $220 million.

Dire Dawa mayor's office said Chinese firm Wuxi No 1 Cotton Mill will build the textile plant which will lie on 40 hectares of land.

The construction of the textile plant will take 30 months and is expected to employ 3,000 Ethiopians once commissioned.

The plant will be located inside Dire Dawa Industrial Park (DDIP) that is currently being constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

DDIP, currently being built at a cost of $159 million on 159 hectares of land, is expected to attract industries specialized in textile, apparel, and agro-processing.

Ethiopian government is financing the construction of the industrial park which is expected to be commissioned later this year.

The textile plant's cornerstone laying ceremony was held in the presence of Liu Yu, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Ethiopia and Ibrahim Usman, mayor of Dire Dawa city administration.