lass=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%'>4.1 Urban Economy and Role of the Town

The town is mainly woreda and zone administration, and commercial center. There are 17 manufacturing

industries, 915 wholesale trades, 2350 retail trades, 1381 service trades and four fuel stations in the town.

There are five banks and one micro finance organization called Dedebet giving financial services in the

town.

The annual revenue of the municipality in 2005 was 9,157,228.5 Birr, and the major sources of revenue were urban land lease, service charges and various taxes. The per capita revenue within the same year was 322.99 Birr. The major investment opportunities in the town are social infrastructure, construction, manufacturing industry and urban agriculture. 

According to CSA 2007, economic activity rate was 52.3 for both sexes; 56.4 and 48.2 for males and females, respectively. The rate of unemployment in the same year was 28.9% for both sexes, while the male and female unemployment rates were 17.3 and 39.4%, respectively.

Adigrat town has economic linkages with the surrounding areas and Mekelle town. The town gets grain

products, livestock supply, natural resources (fuel wood and charcoal), and  labor from surrounding

areas and  manufacturing and commercial products from Mekelle. Manufactured products are also sent

from the town to other areas.

4.2 Social and Municipal Services

Social services

Education

There are five private kindergartens; one government and four private primary schools; seven private and

nine government junior secondary (1-8 grades) schools; three government and one private senior

secondary (9-10 grades) schools, one preparatory school; one TVET; one university; one government and

five private colleges in Adigrat town.  

Health

Regarding health services, there are one government hospital, and two government health centers and

eight private clinics in the town. The town has also two ambulances that give service for emergency cases.                  

Municipal services

Adigrat town has a public meeting hall, an abattoir giving slaughtering service for Christians; a general market meeting twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays, a cattle market meeting on Mondays and two daily markets. Solid waste is collected by a dump truck, tractor and eleven horse drown carts and disposed in authorized open dump site. There are thirteen public toilets in the town, while the liquid waste generated in the town is collected by vacuum trucks rented from other towns.

There are two parks, five playgrounds, a green recreation area covering 124.9 ha, and forest covering 124.45 ha in the town. Street trees are also planted along 4.2 km of streets. The town has also one public library, a town hall and stadium, and hotels of various standards. Regarding religious services, there are seven churches for Orthodox Christians, one church for Catholic and one mosque in the town.