The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has signed contracts, together worth approximately $118m, with two Indian firms.
JMC Projects India will upgrade a 109km section of the Addis Ababa-Hawassa-Moyale route linking Ethiopia to Kenya, according to Indian news agency IANS.
An African Development Bank loan is funding 85% of the project, with the balance covered by the Ethiopian government. Construction is expected to take three years.
And SWE Infrastructure Developers will build a 66km road.
Only two other companies, Ircon and SMC, have delivered road construction projects in Ethiopia within the last two years, IANS reported.
Samson Wondimu, director of communications at the ERA, told IANS: "We want contractors from different countries (so) as to have a variety on design and construction," adding that "it is not clear why Indian contractors do not participate more often in road constructions."
