In May 2019 The Hindu reported on the risks of a rail corridor built with Chinese finance when electricity supply was too weak to keep trains moving, noting that a shortage could block operations for an entire day.
Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa–Djibouti electric railway was sold as a modern Red Sea trade artery for a landlocked state. When hydropower reservoirs fell and rationing began, the same electric dependence that made the line clean also made it fragile.
Chinese loan projects often arrive with ceremony. The harder test is whether power, spare parts, and freight demand keep the trains running after the ribbon is cut.
As China–Horn infrastructure archive, the Hindu warning pairs with Ethiopia’s 2019 electricity rationing files and with later questions about debt and reliability on the Djibouti corridor.
Sources: The Hindu