Ethiopia expects seven of the 10 sugar factories the government plans to develop in the first phase of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) to start operating by end of 2015, the country’s sugar body said.

Ethiopia follows a public sector-led development strategy based on high public investment under its GTP. Under the plan the horn of Africa nation has made considerable progress in terms of economic growth, poverty reduction and stabilizing inflation.

However, according to Brookings, the GTP requires huge investments that the country cannot generate domestically and has to  rely heavily on foreign direct investment to achieve the plan’s objectives.

Ethiopia’s Sugar Corporation said that once commissioned the seven factories will significantly boost the country’s sugar production capacity to 1.58 million tons – a five-fold increase. This is however lower than the 2.25 million tons the country would have produced if all 10 sugar factories came into operation.

A spokes person at the country’s Sugar Corporation told Ethiopian News Agency  that the main reasons for the shortfall were financial constraints, lack of infrastructure and capacity of constructors.

Sugar production has been one of the cornerstones of the government’s plan to increase the country’s competitive advantage in agro-processing sub-sector.

The factories that are expected to be fully operational by the end of next year are Tendaho- 1  and 2, Omo-Kuraz-1, Kesem, two of the Tana Beles factories and Arjo- Dedesa.