Chinese company penetrates Ethiopian market to supply plastic piping system products

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese RIIFO, the multinational manufacturer of plastic piping solutions, on Monday announced its entry into the Ethiopian market with a setting up of a world-class plumbing manufacturing plant in Adama, capital of the Oromia regional state, in Ethiopia.

RIIFO has partnered with the Ethiopian EZM Trade and Investment company to set up a 14.5 million U.S. dollar advanced plumbing system manufacturing plant in Adama Industrial Park.

"The strategic partnership aims to transform the production of high-quality and eco-friendly integrated plastic piping system products, dedicated to enhancing water hygiene and construction efficiency in Ethiopia," said Chief Executive Officer of the EZM Trade and Investment Company Esmelalem Zewde in a press briefing Monday.

The new plumbing system manufacturing plant, which will be officially inaugurated this week with the brand name RIIFO, will start producing high-quality PPR, HDPE, PVC pipes and conduits with all fittings and accessories.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of up to 2 million metric tons of PPR pipes, 1.9 million pieces of PPR fittings, 1 million metric tons of PVC drainage pipes and 900,000 pieces of PVC fittings plus more than 3.5 million metric tons of PVC conduits pipes, according to a statement released during the briefing.

"We have partnered to manufacture high-quality RIFFO Brand pipes and fittings with an ultimate goal to substitute imports and partly supply to the international market in particular to neighboring countries," Zewde told the media.

With 27 years of experience and production of high-quality plumbing solutions in China and 100 other countries, RIIFO is set to penetrate the African market by opening up new factories in Ethiopia and South Africa.

"Our company actively partners and collaborates with local investors worldwide. Our goal is to bring our state-of-the-art technology and expertise from our 70 branches across 100 countries to Ethiopia, and help the local economy thrive," said Jason Cheng, RIIFO's general manager of international business, during the briefing.

The new plant, which will be about 100 km southeast of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, will take about six months for construction.

"Based on our assessment, Ethiopia will offer RIIFO one of the biggest markets in Africa owing to the numerous ongoing and potential construction projects across different parts of the country," Cheng told Xinhua, adding that RIIFO is committed to fulfilling local demands with international standards and environmental requirements.