The incredible train line that will connect world's biggest landlocked country to the sea
If successful, the train line will enable Ethiopia to gain direct access to the Red Sea and open up an endless possibility of passenger and trade routes.
Ethiopia is the world's largest landlocked country by population. More than 101 million people call it home, though few if any ever manage to visit the sea.
It is hoped that this will change with the construction of a huge railway line that will link the capital with the Red Sea. Work on the Addis Ababa and Massawa railway, as it is known, is already underway.
Some 736km (457 miles) will be laid to link Addis Ababa and Massawa, a port city in neighbouring Eritrea.
Italy has agreed to financially back a feasibility study for the planned rail line. The country colonised Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia in 1936.
Last year, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited Rome and confirmed that his then-Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, had agreed to fund the first part of the study.
While it is unclear whether the new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will continue the support, the money is vital in establishing the first step to a route that would bolster trade between the two countries.
No further details have been given as to how much the project will cost, neither has a timeline been drawn up.
Analysts say Italy has only so far agreed on financing the study and not the project itself. The train will go through Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region then through to Awash (via Kolombocha) and to Addis Ababa (via Adama).
Ethiopia already has at least one railway line that gives it access to the sea.
The Addis Ababa to Djibouti line was launched in 2016 and built by China and serves as the main import and export channel for Ethiopia.
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The majority of the landlocked nation's trade comes via Djibouti, which has access to the Gulf of Aden.