Meskel Flower to be Demolished for Road Project

Meskel Flower Hotel, located at an area called after itself, has been sealed by Kirkos District 10 days ago for demolition as part of redevelopment program.

The Hotel was once nationalised by the Dergue regime and administered under the Wabi Shebele Hotels Enterprise. It was later returned to its private owners proving it was unlawful confiscation and reopened in 2009.

The demolition will take place to clear the area for a roundabout of a road that is being upgraded, said Desalgn Kedani, head of the construction and supervision office of Kirkos District Wereda 03.

The road project is part of another bigger road project, extending from Bulgaria to Meskel Flower, with a width of 30m, and from Meskel Flower to Olympia, with a width of 20 to 25m. The whole length of the road is 3.5Kms and will take 400 million Br to construct, said Ahmedin Busser (Eng), head of contract road construction & supervision of the Addis Abeba City Roads Authority (AACRA). The construction of Meskel Flower to Olympia segment is delayed because of rights of way issues, he said.

The owners of the Hotel, who had been given a two-year notice, had tried to discuss option to save the building from demolition asking for redesign of the Hotel, but the district has decided to go ahead with the demolition because accepting their claim will open a door for others to violate the master plan, said, Weynesht Zerihun, head of Kirkos District land management and city redevelopment office.

The Hotel Manager, Meron Abebe, declined to talk about the situation on the side of the Hotel and the fate of the Hotel, saying that she still had another appointment to discuss with the district officials.

The district has set aside 2,575,022 Br in a blocked account for compensation to the hotel owners, but the owners have decided to keep talking with the authorities to the end, according to Desalgn.

The owners have the option of demolishing the building themselves and keeping the money from the sale of the materials; or the district will do the job with its own task forice and keep the proceeds for itself, according to Desalegn.

The Kirkos District ordered Wereda 3, where Meskel Flower is located, to start the demolition last week. Construction of the road from Meskel Flower to Olympia will begin after the end of the African Union summit, Ahmedin told Fortune.


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