City Administration Revises MIDROC’s Leasehold

The Addis Abeba City Administration has revised the title deeds of MIDROC Ethiopia, for the infamous 3.5ha of land in the heart of the city, Piassa. The size was modified marginally, with 0.3ha deducted from the original size leased a decade ago.

Renewal or the agreement was initially done to accommodate the changes recommended by the recent draft 10th revised Master Plan. This Draft Master Plan carved out that portion of the land granted for MIDROC’s construction of a multi-purpose, 40-storey building.

Abinet G Gebremeskel, a close confidant of Mohammed Ali Al Amoudi (Sheik), has signed the contract representing Huda Real Estate, a subsidiary of MIDROC.

“The original plan did not take into consideration aerial map coordinates,” an official from City Land Management Office told Fortune.

The latest adjustment will be the fourth time in a row. In its third renewal last year, the design was changed to bring it in line with the Addis Abeba and surrounding Oromia Zone Draft Master Plan. However, this Plan was suspended after months of unrest hits the Oromia State.

Authorities from City Administration have expressed the hope that the 10th Draft Master Plan will be open for public discussion and a new office opened to oversee its implementation.

Not only has the size of the Huda plot changed but the design of the multipurpose complex which the company had for so long has changed too.

Following the revision, MIDROC signed a new contract with the City Administration in May 2016.

In the latest lease agreement, MIDROC was given an ultimatum to finish construction in two years, with the requirement to start the last in nine months.

It was in 1998, during the tenure of then Mayor, Ali Abdo, that Huda secured the 3.5ha on Dejazmatch Jote St. in the city centre. Ten years later, it was still negotiating and redesigning.

It was initially said that twin towers of 39 and 48 storeys with an estimated budget of 400 million Br were to be constructed. Yet in 2010 after 12 years of waiting with almost no development on the land, the city renewed its lease right with yet another adjustment to the design, which included a 25-storey building along with a shopping centre.

In 2015, the Administration directed MIDROC to again redesign its structure, bringing the building down a height of four storeys.

Throughout all these adjustments and changes in design, the company and the City Administration were at some point in conflict after MIDROC’s request for compensation of money spent on the designs of the buildings.

So far no significant foundation work has taken place the construction site, known for their green and yellow coloured fences.

The City’s directive on lease landholding requires nine months in which to commence construction and 18 months to complete the construction. Along the same lines, the investment licence requires any investment project to begin within two years of securing the licence.

This decision has come right after the City Administration evicted squatters in a place called Weregenu on the outskirts of Addis Abeba for planned redevelopment. The city has 52,000ha under its radar. Issues related to land and the Administration’s relations with surrounding towns have become quite controversial.

 

 


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