Meskel Sqaure Complete renovation

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Addis Ababa to Upgrade Meskel Square with Half Billion Birr

September 23, 2011 - Addis Ababa's Meskel Square will have a radically new look according to plans made under the Beautification, Park and Cemetery Development and Administration Agency, according to Capital. The new plan will have a design that has vehicles travelling under the surface of the square leaving the ground level free for pedestrian usage. The new design was created by three Ethiopian architects and it is expected to cost 500 million birr, not including fine details.

The new design was conceived under the concept that the square could be made into a place that is more valuable and functional to non-vehicle users. Currently the square is simply a crossroads for cars coming from six different directions with only some small part of the square being used for recreational and sporting activities. Even the part that is used in this way can hardly be considered a pleasant space because of the noise and smoke of passing vehicles.

The new design will include a library, cafe and restaurants, statutes which are registered by UNESCO, designs which can express the cultures and traditions of the nations and nationalities of Ethiopia, and sport activity areas. Yonas, one of the designers, told Capital that the walls will be decorated by statutes which will promote the nations and nationalities of Ethiopia and “Ginbot 20”. In addition, there will be a water feature that will follow the wall going from Bole up to Saint Joseph school. An exercise area, public bathrooms and shaded seats for those who sit in the space provided will be included.

The design integrates the new train line that is planned to pass through Meskel Square under the Growth and Transformation Plan. The train line will connect “Tore Hailoch” and “CMC” areas, and will pass through Meskel square, but will travel underground through the square in the same way as the cars.

DEBRE ZEIT, Oromo Region | Lake Hora Resort | Proposed




This proposed Five Star Resort Hotel is located on the shores of Lake Hora at Debra Zeit town which is less than an hour away by car from the Addis Ababa.

The guest accommodation, inspired by the Oromo village vernacular, nestles on the hillside. Each guest room is a spacious 40sq.m., designed to focus on vistas of the lake framed by trees providing privacy and tranquility. The buildings are constructed in timber and bamboo frames with thatched roofs.

A multi-purpose hall and amphitheater will offer a stunning venue for weddings and conferences of up to 400 people.

The site accommodates:

Guest chalets (2 storey)
Riding stables
Sports pavilion
Poolside health spa
Heritage village
Lakeside nightclub and bar
Fishing lodge
Floating pontoon restaurant
King Solomon's mine feature
Waterfall feature to lake
Various wharfs
Lake Hora Site Plans are:
Cliff top suites
Business rooms wings
Lakeside wing
Lakeside facilities
Picnic area

Adama Hotel proposed



Facts:
27,727 sq m
8 floors
Penthouse suite
Roof Garden
Amenities: Conference center, shops, meeting rooms, "special restaurant".
411 parking spots.

Awassa Hotel Proposed



Awasa Hotel Development is a Four Star Resort with 270 guest’s rooms, including 10 executive suites, with complete amenities. It has sports and leisure facilities include extensive gardens, restaurants, bar, night club lounges, Internet Café, saloon, ballrooms, penthouses, gymnasium, weight room, a spa and a fitness centre with indoor treatment pool. Also, with 795,625sq.m. of gardens.

The building area is 28,004 sq. m., 795,625 square meter of gardens, the beach on the horizon, the lake in the background and the lake at your doorstep. Perfect places to meditate, walk, read a book or simply feel the fresh grass.

Multipurpose hall is 925 square meter it includes dance club with huge floor, VIP area and gigantic disco ball.

Retail shops are designed and located in the corridor of the ground floor, there are more than 14 shops with 600 square meter each.

Sport Club & Courts:
Awasa Lake Resort Sports Club has wide areas of sport places includes both indoor and outdoor sport activities like tennis courts including football ground, 2 squash courts, snooker tables, beach activities and others

Suits & Rooms:
The Luxury Suits have one or two bedrooms and also include two bedroom duplex in area ranging between 86 to 150 square meter.
The suits are fully equipped with television with a choice of channels from an internal network, cable and satellite, kitchenette, storage space, security and parking places.

The rooms areas are between 27 to 35 square meter.

The rooms bathrooms are harmonious extensions of the bedrooms, would be separated only by sliding doors.

ADDIS ABEBA | Millennium Hotel | 12F | Proposed (In Bole area)

Ethiopia and Djibouti to sign electricity export agreement this week


10/03/2011

A high-level delegation from the government and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) is expected to travel to Djibiouti to sign an agreement on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 that will make electricity export to Djibiouti, operating on a trial basis for the past few months, official and binding.Ethiopia has been exporting electricity to Djibouti since the end of May, charging 70 dollar cents for a kilowatt hour (KWh). Ethiopia has been exporting 100GWh with the aim to supply uninterrupted 200mw to Djibouti.

This will mark the first concrete step by the government toward plans for exporting electric power to its neighbours, including Kenya and Sudan, and to widen plans to fund the generation of electricity from it.

The project, largely financed by African Development Bank (AfDB) and costing around 65 million dollars, aims to enhance access to electricity in Djibouti, which in 2003 was 49.5pc, to 60pc by to 2015. One of the benefits of the project is a ten pc tariff reduction expected in Djibouti.

The project was initiated by the two clients EEPCo and its counterpart Electricite de Djibouti (EdD) in 2006.

Substation construction work has included an extension to the existing Dire Dawa substation, involving two 230-kV lines. One circuit is used to supply Adigala, the principal Ethiopian border town along the 230-kV transmission line route. Another substation has been constructed, which will also supply another 11 Ethiopian border towns, in the vicinity of Aysha, Dewele and Harewa, with a network comprising 230 km of 33-kV overhead line.

Adigala substation also includes a 230-kV line to supply Djibouti City. Another 75 km of 63-kV overhead line has been constructed to supply power to the border towns of Ali-Sabieh and Dikhil.

The first phase of the electrification of the border towns was completed in 2009 and around 9,000 new customers are expected to benefit through other projects, such as small scale micro-industries and irrigation projects using electric appliance pumps.

Djibouti’s consumption was 0.17 billion kwh in 2000, which increased to o.22 billion kwh by the end of 2006. Recent documents show the annual consumption of electricity from domestic and imported sources has reached 0.26 billion kwh.

Power demand in Djibouti is expected to grow from about 90 MW to 175 MW in the next fifteen years, according to a study done for the project. The transmission line to Djibouti from Ethiopia will supply a significant proportion of this demand, possibly up to 75pc being exported from Ethiopia, to the economic advantage of both countries, according to the same study.

Nigeria's Dangote to build cement plant in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Nigeria's Dangote Group, which has seen a rapid expansion on the continent, has signed an agreement to set up a $400 million cement plant in Ethiopia, state media said on Thursday.

The deal was signed on Wednesday between Dangote's president and CEO Aliko Dangote and officials from the Ethiopia's Oromiya region, where the plant will be constructed with an aim of producing two million tonnes per year.

The project is scheduled to be finalised in two years time, Ethiopian Television said in a report.

Dangote, Africa's most successful businessman, controls about two-thirds of the Nigerian cement market and seeks to expand his interests in the world's poorest continent.

Dangote has also invested in Ghana's 1.2 million tonnes per year Tema Cement Factory, and other plants in Senegal, Zambia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

Ethiopian Airlines has ordered four Boeing 777 Freighters
October 5, 2011

Ethiopian Airlines has ordered four Boeing 777 Freighters, making it the first African customer for the freighter, Boeing announced Wednesday.


The order is worth approximately $1.1 billion at list prices, although customers get substantial discounts. Boeing previously listed the order on its orders website as coming from an unidentified customer.


A depiction of a future Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777 Freighter. (Boeing)
“As the largest African cargo carrier operating in some of the fastest growing trade lanes of the world — between Africa and Europe, Middle East and Asia – the new 777 Freighter fleet will significantly enhance our tonnage and range capabilities,” Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said in a news release. “The proven operational and economical efficiency of these airplanes will reposition Ethiopian Cargo in a stronger place to continue winning in this hypercompetitive market.”

Ethiopian Airlines was the first to operate the 777-200LR and flies all Boeing aircraft.

Ethiopian's second Dreamliner (Airplane 44) taking shape!

Core to Design Road for Light Railway Train


The latest road design from Core Consulting Engineers Plc will take into consideration the design of the road form Meskel Square to Bole Airport along Africa Avenue, which is awaiting a financing decision from the Council of Ministers.

Core consulting Engineers Plc was awarded a 3.6 million Br road design project from Torhayloch to Megenagna, on Thursday, September 29, 2011 from the Addis Abeba City Roads Authority (AACRA), on which a Light Railway Train (LRT) track will run. The road passes through Mexico, La Gare, Meskel Square, Hayahulet Mazoria, Lem Hotel area and Megenagna.

Engineer Eskinder Zewede & Co Plc, Beza Consulting, Renardet SA. Consulting Engineers, a Swiss company, and Unicon, an Indian company had responded to the invitation put forth by the authority in May this year. However, Core was awarded the design as it had offered to do it for 50pc less than the second lowest offer, according to Fekade Haile, general manager of AACRA.

The 9.2km long and 40 metre-wide road project is not the first of its kind Core has won from the city roads authority. It previously won the 8.2 km long design of the road from Ayat to Megenagna, also for LRT tracks, offering a similar price as it has now. This road which is relatively new already has a 15-meter wide space in the middle for the construction of LRT track. The design of the road for the LRT has been submitted by Core to AACRA.

For the design of the new road, Core has only nine months to finish and submit its design, according to the contract signed on Thursday.

The road project may involve the demolishing of the road sides located at Lideta District, Mexico round about, Meskel Square, Hayahulet Mazoria and Lem Hotel area, according to Fekade.

“The design will also include the construction of a new passage at Megenanga round about under the existing bridge,” he told Fortune.

The design will also take into consideration the road construction planned from Meskel square to Bole Airport along Africa Avenue, Ephrem G.egziabher, project manager of Core told Fortune.

AACRA had planned to start the construction of the 4.3km long and 40-metre wide road, which was to be constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) Addis Engineering Plc, at a cost of 60 million Br in February 2011. However, it has been delayed due to complications in financing. It is now awaiting approval from the Council of Ministers, which is reviewing the project cost according to Fekade.