3 ms·
TL;DR: The railway from Ethiopia to Djibouti failed because no one could afford to maintain it. A few years later, the Djibouti government took out a loan for
by thisrod 10y ago
TL;DR: The railway from Ethiopia to Djibouti failed because no one could afford to maintain it. A few years later, the Djibouti government took out a loan for the value of 9 months production from the entire country, and paid some Chinese firms to build them a brand new one.
- kalleboo 10y agoSkimming some of the sources in Wikipedia, it looks like the maintenance and rebuilding of the previous railway stalled not so much due to cost reasons but rather political reasons in the cooperation between Djibouti and Ethiopia. I guess it's easier politically to rally around a new shiny railroad than play "who pays who" for maintenance of a 100-year-old one.