The first hearing in the case involving the state-owned Ethiopian Railway Corporation and Yapi Merkezi, a Turkish contractor, took place earlier this month, according to reliable sources. It centers around the 392-kilometer Awash-Woldiya-Hara Gebeya railway project kicked off in 2015 with USD 1.7 billion in financing from the state-owned Turk Exim Bank. Systra MD, a French firm, was awarded the contract for consulting on the project, while Yapi Merkezi was in charge of the construction work. Attorneys representing the Corporation and the government traveled to London days before the hearing and have since returned to Ethiopia. Only the arbitration judges and representatives of Ethiopia and the contractor know,” said the executive.
