Construction of the Mesob Tower in Ethiopia is set to begin. Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism Hirut Kassaw (PhD) revealed the report and said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the ministry and the architects who designed the tower, to commence construction works.
The 70-storey development will be located in the country’s capital city, Addis Ababa. It will be 250 metres high and will sit on 20,000 square meters of land. The US $681m projects will feature hotels, shopping malls, a cultural centre representative of all regions of Ethiopia, a gym and a golf club, among other things. The development is projected to be completed in five years’ time.
Design of the tower
According to the architect, the design of Mesob Tower is unique and reflects Ethiopia’s culture. The public-private partnership development upon completion will contribute to, the inflow of tourists and will also enhance the positive image of the country.
“This will be a tower built well into the sky as a symbol of unity for tourists. The Mesob Tower will provide competent and sufficient human resources to the tourism industry upon its realization,” said Hirut Kassaw.
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Highest tourism growth in the world
Mr Hirut Kassaw noted that Ethiopia’s Travel & Tourism economy has grown by 48.6% according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual review of the economic impact and social importance of the sector.
“Our country has experienced the highest tourism growth in the world, surpassing the global average growth rate of 3.9% and the African average of 5.6%. Construction of this tower is an added advantage for Ethiopia’s growth,” said the Minister.
Project overview
Mesob Tower is a 70-floor mixed-use building that is being developed on 50,000 square meters of land along Mozambique Street, Kirkos sub-city, in Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia.
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The edifice, which upon completion will be 250 meters tall, is shaped like a “Mesob” which is a colourful hand weaved Ethiopian basket that serves as a table/ household utensil where food is put on mostly during communal meals. Mesob Tower will consist of a hotel, a shopping mall, a cultural centre representing all the regions in the East African country, a gym, gardens, an athletic track and, a golf club.
The tower will serve as a tourism attraction centre and become the city’s main meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions centre.
Mesob Tower project team
Reportedly, the Mesob Tower project is developed through a public-private partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the ministry of the Government of Ethiopia responsible for researching, preserving, developing, and promoting the culture and tourist attractions of the East African country and its peoples, both inside the country and internationally as the project owner.
https://constructionreviewonline.com/news/ethiopia/construction-of-mesob-tower-in-ethiopia-to-begin/
The scale of the tower is striking, in that it dwarfs the surrounding homes and structures. I wonder if the thinkers behind it didn’t incline towards designing for an experiment in new environments. Like clean air, climate control, agricultural innovation etc.
As much as the cultural heritage is inspiring, the building design itself is ugly and it will blot the landscape of Addis Ababa forever! Good luck to the owners and financiers. I will be proven right in 20 years after the project is complete. Too late then.