Ethiopia's flagship Chinese-built Hawassa Industrial Park on Tuesday announced 114 million U.S. dollars revenue from the export of face masks to the international market.

The reported revenue was generated from the export of face masks mainly to the U.S. and European markets during the recently concluded Ethiopian fiscal year, state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) quoted Fitsum Ketema, General Manager of Hawassa Industrial Park, as saying.

Despite the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, companies operating inside the premises of the industrial park were able to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic through the production and export of high-quality face-masks and related products, according to the general manager.

Hawassa Industrial Park, which the Ethiopian government considers as a model for the construction of other industrial zones across the country, has proved successful immediately after its inauguration in July 2016 by attracting various world-class textile and apparel companies to the East African country.

The industrial park was built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The Ethiopian government has previously disclosed its plan to generate close to 1 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenue from the park once it starts operations at its full potential.

As part of its efforts to make the country a light manufacturing hub and lower-middle income economy by 2025, the East African country hopes its plan to build and commission a total of 30 industrial parks within the same period.