Chinese footwear group Huajian has signed a 15-year lease on an industrial park in Ethiopia, with buildings earmarked for shoe and leathergoods production.
Local press report that the Chinese conglomerate has ambitious plans for Jimma Industrial Park, which include setting up a coffee processing plant and creating 15,000 jobs.
The park is around 350km from the capital, and was constructed by China Communications Construction Company with an investment of $61 million, said reports.
Huajian already owns a large shoe manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, and has also been in talks to set up factories in Nigeria.