Addis Ababa, October 30, 2026 (FMC) – Ethiopia’s transition to domestically produced natural gas is beginning to reshape the operating costs of local manufacturing, with the Debre Berhan and Modjo ceramic factories shifting from imported conventional fuels to locally available gas, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has disclosed.
Speaking after announcing the conversion of city buses to natural gas in Addis Ababa on Friday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed disclosed that the Debre Berhan and Modjo ceramic factories had also shifted from imported conventional fuel to natural gas, adding that their production capacity is sufficient to exceed Ethiopia’s national demand.
The change in energy source is expected to bring down manufacturing expenses by replacing imported fuel with natural gas produced in Ethiopia. This, in turn, could enable manufacturers to produce ceramic products at lower costs and make them more affordable to consumers.
The industrial shift also carries implications for the construction sector, where the price of building materials directly affects the overall cost of housing and infrastructure development. The Prime Minister linked the use of domestic gas in ceramic production to the wider effort to reduce the cost of construction materials and improve their accessibility.
He explained that the cost of construction is shaped by two major components: the expense of manufacturing materials and the cost of transporting them to construction sites. Alongside the factories’ transition to natural gas, the government has ordered nearly 100 gas-powered trucks to strengthen distribution and reduce the cost of moving materials and other goods.
The initiative forms part of a broader effort to use Ethiopia’s natural resources as inputs for domestic industries rather than relying heavily on imported energy. The Prime Minister also pointed to the potential of natural gas to support fertilizer production and electricity generation as its utilization expands.
He stressed that extracting natural gas is only one part of the process, underscoring the importance of developing the infrastructure and technical capacity needed to deliver it to factories and other consumers. The economic value of the resource, he indicated, lies in its practical application across productive sectors.
The transition at the two ceramic factories illustrates how locally sourced energy can support manufacturing, reduce production costs and strengthen domestic supply. For Ethiopia, expanding such applications is also part of a wider effort to lower dependence on imported inputs and translate natural resource development into tangible economic benefits.