4.1 Urban Economy and Status of the Town

Durame is administration, service and trade center. The town has both agricultural and industrial businesses. It has one star hotel, ten medium standard hotels, six bars, 12 restaurants, three breakfasts, 90 retails, 22 grain stores, 10 construction material stores and 40 butcheries.  There is one Commercial Bank and one Micro financial institution in the town providing services to the community. The average annual revenue of the municipality within the 2006/07 – 2010/2011 periods was 1,453,536.72 Birr as per municipal information.

The town has prepared industrial zones which has road and electricity facilities. There is one flour factory which is under process for production. Except this, there are no factories that can be mentioned in the town. The town has ten grain mills, 21 metal and wood works and two Hollow Concrete Block production enterprises. Regarding Micro and Small Scale Enterprises, three are 12 enterprises organized in diary production, animal fattening, drinks and groceries, grain trade, tailoring, construction fruit and vegetable production, honey and butter trade. These enterprises created 1452 job opportunities while they were given 705, 200 birr loan according to information obtained from municipality.

In Durame town, since the last five years 18 investment projects were given opportunity with the capital of 77,726,204 Birr. Accordingly, 11 projects in hotels and tourism, two projects in social services, one industrial sector and three in agriculture are already in the process of production.

The town has economic linkages with the surrounding areas such as Danboya, Shinshicho and Shone, Adilo, Mudala, Doyo Gana, Hadaro and Angacha towns and it gets agricultural inputs manufacturing and commercial products and some construction materials from Addis Ababa and other towns  while  these goods and services are distributed to the surrounding rural areas and towns.