ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The state-owned Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) earned 5 million U.S. dollars in revenue from the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AA-LRT) during the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2016/17 that ended July 8, an official said Monday.
Dereje Tefera, Communications Director of ERC, told Xinhua the revenue was earned through fare collection from an estimated 35 million passengers during the just ended fiscal year.
Tefera says the collected revenue will be used to manage part of the operational cost of the 34 kms electrified AA-LRT.
Commissioned in September 2015, AA-LRT is the first light railway in Africa built at a cost of 475 million U.S. dollars, with 85 percent of funding coming from the Export-Import Bank of China.
The rail project was constructed by China Railway Engineering Corporation Limited (CREC) and is currently operated by Chinese firm Shenzhen Metro Group Company.
Its estimated that AA-LRT currently transports about 60,000 people daily, significantly reducing traffic congestion in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, home to around four million residents.
The Ethiopian government said the project had created 13,000 jobs.
