Bunna Bank Plans New HQs

Bunna International Bank, one of the late entrants among private commercial banks, is set to build its headquarters at the Central Business District, on Ras Abebe Aregay Street.

The headquarters will sit on a 1,043sqm plot of land the bank leased from the city administration after winning a land lease auction with the highest bid of 66 million Br. The headquarters, which is expected to be constructed within 900 days of the contract award, will have a minimum height of 70m and a total floor area of 20,000sqm.

The growth of the bank in the last nine years necessitated the bank to own its own headquarters, according to Tadese Chinkel, president of the bank.

“This has created a demand to have our head office tailored for the services we render,” Tadese told Fortune.

The construction could cost an estimated 800 million Br, according to engineers’ estimates.

To engage a company for the design and construction of the building, the bank announced an international tender in the state daily English-language newspaper, The Ethiopian Herald, on July 26, 2018.

“The contractors have to come up with creative and strategic concepts to fulfill our office needs using the limited space provided,” said Fekadu Tolcha, the project office manager.

Established close to a decade ago with 156 million Br, Bunna has pushed its paid-up capital to 1.1 billion Br as of June 30, 2017.

“We aspire to expand our assets,” Tadese said.

Three banks, including Awash, Dashen and Wegagen, have already inaugurated their building headquarters. Nib, Zemen and United have hired Chinese companies to erect their head offices in the financial zone. Bank of Abyssinia and Oromia International Bank have also acquired buildings.

The state-owned giant, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, is constructing a headquarters with a height of 198m and 52 storeys at a projected cost of 5.3 billion Br.

“The bank should focus on the design,” suggested a construction building consultant who wanted to remain anonymous.

Residing in Daber Building on Adwa Street, the bank now pays over 10 million Br in annual rent for its head office.

In 2017, the bank registered a net profit of 265 million Br, six percent higher than the previous year, with a deposit balance of 7.5 billion. Currently, the Bank has over 1,000 permanent staff who serve in 173 branches throughout the country. Bunna appointed Tadesse as its third Chief Executive Officer in May 2017.

To construct Bunna’s head office near Wabi Shebele Hotel, 22 companies have purchased the bidding documents so far. The bid will be closed on October 30, 2018.


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