Ethiopia's government has officially approved Galaan Multipurpose Port as a multimodal logistics hub, a move designed to ease pressure on the country's road infrastructure and shift freight towards rail transport. The approval was jointly granted by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the Ethiopian Maritime Authority and the Ethiopian Customs Commission. The decision allows international shipping lines to designate Galaan as the final destination for cargo arriving at the Port of Djibouti, enabling containers to travel directly by rail to the inland facility under a single transport document known as a through bill of lading, with customs clearance taking place at Galaan rather than at Djibouti.
The facility, located in Indode and formerly known as Indode Multipurpose Port, addresses a long-standing challenge for Ethiopia's trade corridors. As a landlocked country, Ethiopia relies heavily on the Port of Djibouti for maritime commerce. During the 2025/26 fiscal year, Djibouti handled 17.57 million metric tons of Ethiopian import and export cargo, representing 96.7 percent of the country's seaborne trade, according to available figures. Much of this cargo has traditionally been transported by truck along the Djibouti-Addis Ababa corridor, a route frequently affected by congestion and high costs.
Ethiopian Railway Corporation CEO Takele Uma said the approval would bring international shipping lines closer to Ethiopia's domestic market. He described it as an important step towards strengthening the country's railway-based freight transportation system and improving international trade logistics efficiency. The through bill of lading arrangement is significant because it provides a single transport document covering cargo movement across different transportation stages, reducing administrative complications for importers and exporters while allowing shipping lines and freight forwarders to coordinate international shipments more effectively.
The development builds on earlier regulatory changes. In March 2025, the Ethiopian Maritime Authority licensed several companies, including the Ethio-Djibouti Railway, to operate as multimodal transport operators, expanding competition in a sector long dominated by the state-owned Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics enterprise, which historically handled approximately 90 percent of cargo. The Galaan approval now provides licensed operators with an additional inland destination for organizing international cargo movements under unified transport arrangements.
For importers and exporters, the new system offers operational advantages. Containers can be transported by rail from Djibouti to Galaan under customs control without separate transport arrangements for each stage, and customs clearance at the inland facility brings goods closer to final markets, particularly Addis Ababa and surrounding commercial centres. The shift from road to rail is expected to reduce heavy truck traffic along the Djibouti-Addis Ababa corridor, potentially lowering road congestion and transportation costs while easing pressure on road infrastructure.