Demka Textile and Investment PLC, a brand new Turkish textile manufacturing factory, is mulling ways of starting production amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which had delayed its operation, said a company official.

Construction of the textile manufacturing plant, located 28 kilometers southwest of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa in the town of Sebeta, was completed in 2019.

Manager of the factory, Abdulmenan Sherif said the company has brought state-of-the-art integrated textile manufacturing technology and a globally renowned textile brand and supply chain to the Ethiopian textile industry.

According to Sherif, the manufacturing plant, which is capable of producing 220 tons of garments for local and global markets annually, was ready to start production.

Some 90% of the production will be shipped to the US, Germany, France and the UK through the well-established supply chain formed by the Istanbul-based owner of the plant, Demka Textile, he noted.

“Due to the company’s global reputation, we had already received ample orders from different countries,” he said. “Most of the orders were registered before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.”

The company plans to employ some 2,500 Ethiopians in the first phase of its operation, which will increase with the expansion of the plant.

FanaBC