Written by Beyene Geda | From The Africa Report

Ethiopia has received a $380 million World Bank loan to help improve the capacity of its urban councils through expansion of infrastructure and services.

The board of the Bretton Woods institution approved the loan last Friday to bankroll Ethiopia’s second Urban Development Program (ULGDP II) that will support 44 cities.

“Ethiopia is rapidly becoming more urban, which means poverty becomes more of a city phenomenon.

“In 2000, 11 percent of Ethiopia’s poor lived in cities, but this rose to 14 percent in 2010/11,” said Guang Zhe Chen, the World Bank’s country director for Ethiopia, in a statement released on Tuesday.

“Through efforts to leverage well-functioning and productive urban centers, the operation is expected to maintain a focus on the urban poor and increase access to basic infrastructure services, spur inclusive growth and fuel job creation,” he added.
The ULGDP aims to address institutional and fiscal gaps at the urban local government level by supporting improved performance in the planning, delivery, and sustained provision of urban services and infrastructure by local governments.

Read more at The Africa Report