The Addis Ababa City Administration is readying to auction land plots cleared as part of the ongoing citywide infrastructure project.
The city’s Land Development and Administration Bureau is preparing bid documents for the auction of several plots, most of them in Piassa, according to Sisay Getachew, its head. The Bureau is preparing special and regular auctions for the plots.
Private developers will bid for projects whose designs are determined by the city, while the government will develop some of the plots, such as those earmarked for parks, on its own, according to Sisay.
“It isn’t only around Piassa that we will auction-off land. Plots available along the entire corridor development project will be auctioned, too,” Sisay told The Reporter.
With the newly inaugurated Adwa Museum as its center, the “corridor development” project snakes from there to Arat Kilo and then on to Kebena and Megenagna. Another section of the project starts at Bole International Airport to Arat Kilo via Meskel Square, while the third route stretches from Bole to Ayat through Megenagna.
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City officials, including Mayor Adanech Abiebie and her deputy Jantirar Abay, have divided up the work involved in the controversial project. Adanech oversees demolition and redevelopment in Piassa and its surroundings.
“Up to 11,000 people have been relocated from Piassa, with close to 2,000 houses torn down for the redevelopment,” said the Mayor during a progress briefing earlier this week with the Prime Minister, who is also heavily involved in the project. Adanech said the residents of all 2,000 homes have been provided with condominium units as compensation.
The mayor priorly said purpose of the “corridor development” is to expand city roads.
The Mayor stated business establishments had been given the option to redevelop their properties themselves or to rent space in the newly-constructed Adwa Museum. Business owners dismiss the alternatives, claiming the requirements that come with them are unrealistic.
The proprietor of a well-known restaurant in the middle of Piassa says his establishment was demolished after officials gave him a few days’ notice. The business used to employ 60 people.
“We were told we could choose to develop the area by ourselves, but the capital requirements and other perquisites are very unrealistic,” he told The Reporterspeaking anonymously. “Only a couple of businesses from the old Arada building area got into the Museum, but the rental fees are crazy. They have to pay at least 2,000 birr a month for one square meter.”
Plots will be auctioned off according to an urban design plan for the corridor project, according to Sisay. The design earmarked plots for commercial and residential buildings, as well as for parks and green spaces to be developed by the government or through public-private partnerships.
Winning bidders will be able to choose between developing hotels, plazas, and residential buildings, according to Sisay. He says the design plans will be made public.
“A committee to run the auction has been established,” said Sisay. “All the areas to be auctioned are ready, and what remains is measuring the plots.”
City Administration standards set a 5,000 square meter minimum for the private development of properties such as malls and hotels, with residential developers obliged to lease at least 1,000 square meters.
The Bureau is considering selling the bid documents digitally via Telebirr, according to Sisay.
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