ADDIS ABABA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Urbanization in Ethiopia is increasing and projected to triple, with urban population expected to reach 42.3 million by 2037, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) revealed on Monday.
Not only is its population expected to increase, but its big cities are to densify, according to the ECA.
"This level of urbanization and urban development is currently at its infant stage, providing an opportunity to support the growth, industrialization and sustainable development agenda of the country," the statement read.
According to the ECA, the Ethiopian government has put a holistic urban development blueprint in place to guide the sustainable urban development plan, and "has made urban good governance and capacity building a strategic a priority."
Ethiopia, over the past decade, has been implementing two rounds of five-year national Growth and Transformation Plans (GTPs I and II), which were aligned with the 2030 global agenda for sustainable development.
Various UN agencies have been also providing substantive guidance and support so as to contribute to the conceptualization sustainable urban development as the East African country embarked on various activities that aimed to promote inclusive urban development.
UN's joint inter-agency taskforce - which brings together the ECA, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) as well as the UN Development Programme (UNDP) - is currently co-organizing a high-level workshop on Transformational Leadership for Sustainable Urban Development in Ethiopia.
The high-level gathering, organized in partnership with the Ethiopian Urban Development and Construction Ministry, mainly aimed to prepare city officials across Ethiopia to contribute towards the building of democratic and enhanced urban-governance so as to promote active engagement of the urban population.
