Transportation
A Crumbling Metro Reveals Failed Promise of China’s Billions in Africa
A $475 million light-rail system serving Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa shows how some China-funded infrastructure investments across the continent are now suffering from neglect.
The Addis Ababa skyline is seen from the light rail system on Nov. 19, 2023.
Photographer: Michele Spatari/AFP via Getty Images
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Almost a decade ago, the light-rail system in Ethiopia’s bustling capital of Addis Ababa was hailed as a revolutionary solution to the city’s transportation woes. Envisioned as a project that would redefine urban transport, the system promised to sweep up to 60,000 passengers per hour along its tracks.