Ethiopia has set aside US $2bn for integrated community development project in its capital Addis Ababa which will entail 4,000 apartment houses, three star hotels and recreation centres.
The country’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed during the launch of the project said that according to the master plan, 1,600 households whose current dwelling will be demolished and later on be absorbed in the proposed apartments.
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Integrated community development project
The first phase of the project will have shopping malls which will be finalized in three years. It is expected to energize the economy by creating around 25,000 jobs for Ethiopians. The development project also aims to preserve the historical and communal values of the area, while ensuring the current dwellers are also beneficiaries of the development project through ownership of some of the apartment units, challenging the previous practice of displacement.
“Eagle Hills has given us US $65m that will allow us to provide housing for those 1,600 households in the new project without being displaced from where they have been living for long,” said Mr Abiy.
Anticipating an influx of foreign businesses and tourists, Eagle Hills, the United Arab Emirates firm said La Gare would be anchored by four and five-star hotels, supported by retail outlets, offices and residential buildings. La Gare will be a new commercial hub for the city offering Grade A offices and leasehold commercial property.
The projects is set to cover 360,000 square meters in the city centre, on the former site of the capital’s central train station, La Gare, from which the scheme takes its name, the development is the first foray into Ethiopia for Eagle Hills.
