Speakers of the House of Peoples’ Representative (HPR) and the House of Federation (HoF) in Ethiopia have signed a deal that will pave way for construction of a US$101m new parliament complex which is expected to host about 900 MPs.
Abadula Gemeda, the speaker of (HPR) said that the process of selecting the best design took longer than expected since they had to make sure that the design selected was able to withstand the test of time and be available for generations to come.
The new parliament is to have three halls. The first will serve as offices for MPs while the second will house the members of the House of Federation and the third hall is for public assembly. The architect for this project, Addis Mebratu indicated that the complex will also have research corners and a printing press, children’s playground, parking, garage and finally, restaurants and a cafeteria.
The new complex will be constructed closer to the old parliament hall which has been in operation for 72 years in Arat kilo area in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Abeba.
A shortage of offices in the current parliament building which Parliament shares with the House of the Federation is what prompted the request for a new complex that was spacious and able to accommodate everyone.
