[Ethiopia] Soda Ash

The National Mining Corporation has said it aspires to earn foreign currency amounting to around US$ 83M annually by exporting soda ash to the international market. The announcement was made after a signing of a joint agreement with the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency for the rehabilitation of the Abijata Soda Ash plant upon the completion of which the company will shortly begin to export the product. Apart from supplying to local factories, the company will engage in exporting soda ash to the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. Officials said the agreement was made after a series of negotiations on the evaluation of the existing plant, NMIC and PPESA would start with 54% and 46% shares respectively.