page_title: Awasa
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Awasa / Population / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Hawassa Industrial Park
context_page_description: Awassa is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Awasa in the Great Rift Valley. It is located 273 km south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, 130 km east of Sodo, and 75 km north of Dilla. The town serves as the capital of the Sidama Region and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. It lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-Cape Town, and has a latitude and longitude of 7°3′N 38°28′E and an elevation of 1,708 meters above sea level. Its name comes from a Sidamic word meaning "wide body of water".
  The city is home to Hawassa University, Awasa Adventist College, and a major market. The city is served by Awasa Airport, opened in 1988. Postal service is provided by the main branch; electricity and telephone service are also available. Important local attractions include the St. Gabriel Church and the Awassa Kenema Stadium. Fishing is a major local industry.
  Awasa was capital of the former Sidamo Province from about 1978 until the province was abolished with the adoption of the 1995 Constitution. It then became the capital of the Southern Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.
context_section_description: Awassa Industrial Park (HIP), situated on the outskirts of a city flanked by a picturesque Rift Valley lake. The park that got 18 leading global apparel and textile companies by the end of 2017 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 20 June 2017. Construction of the park is led by Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), which is chaired by Arkebe Oqubay. The park is the first in its kind in the country, consumed more than US$250 million and built in a time of less than one year. The park is implementing Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) that enables to recycle 90 percent of sewerage disposal water and fulfills international standards. Covering an area of 1,300,000 m² (14,000,000 sq ft), of which 300,000 m² (3,200,000 sq ft) is factory shed build-up area, the park have additional area allocated for shared facilities.
  As of 2020, about 30,000 people work there, and it's growing rapidly, albeit somewhat slower than expected.
caption: Hawassa Industrial Park
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