**1. Introduction**

The construction industry in Ethiopia is a major driving sector for economic growth. Based on a report by the National Bank of Ethiopia [1], the construction industry in 2018 accounted for 71.4% of the nations' industrial output and expanded by 15.7% from its previous share signifying the leading role of construction sector. Massive government investment in infrastructure and residential building projects has made the sector to create jobs and improve standard of living. The rate of urbanization in the major cities is increasing, and this created a huge need for improved infrastructure systems and a big housing project. [2] reported that the urbanization rate between 1984 and 2007 has quadrupled from 3.7% to 14% over the two decades and still it was one of the lowest in the world, well below the sub-Saharan African average of 37%; it is projected that in 2028 the 30% of the country people live in urban areas [3].

Coarse and fine aggregates are the major inputs for most of the infrastructural systems and building projects. Approximately three quarter of the volume of concrete is occupied by aggregate and 90% of asphalt pavement is aggregate [4, 5]. This increased the demand of aggregate in line with the sectoral development. Yasmin, in 2015 based on the annual cement production volume, estimated the demand of Ethiopian for sand would be approximately 1.5 million tons per year [6].
