A Crumbling Addis Metro Reveals Failed Promise of China’s Billions in Africa
martinplaut.com
The project may have prioritized short-term political goals over long-term operational sustainability Source: Bloomberg A $475 million light-rail system serving Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa shows how som…

Today it sits as a daily reminder of the broken promises of China-funded infrastructure investments that swept Africa in recent years. Frequent breakdowns, inadequate maintenance funding and operational constraints mean barely one-third of its 41 trains are operational, ferrying 55,000 passengers a day, a fraction of initial projections.

Once bustling and vibrant train stations now exude an air of desolation and neglect, contrasting sharply with the city’s urgent transportation needs for its almost 4 million residents. Inoperable trains are regularly parked at the railway’s garage, awaiting maintenance.

  •  DdCno1   ( @DdCno1@beehaw.org ) 
    27•2 months ago

    Yeah, no. Your point is whataboutism in order to deflect from an obvious failure. It’s the old hypernormalization approach that dictatorships and their defenders love to use. “If everything’s bad, then the countless problems of this autocracy can’t be that bad, right?”