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The road project is located around five condominium neighborhoods in the city and covers a total of 118 kilometre. The construction is estimated to last for a year and a half. The  Addis Ababa Roads Authority closed the bidding process on 26th November 2020. It took 15 days to do the evaluations needed to choose the right consultant. 

The authority carries out financial and technical evaluations to choose the most viable consultant to bring the project to success. The consultant will be responsible for quality control of the construction, inspection of works, adherence to contractual duties and schedule, and approval of payments. 

The Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation was engaged to construct all the roads in this project, fully funded by the City Administration. The location of the roads includes Bole Arabsa, Jemo Gara, Yeka-Tafo, Chefe, and Koye Feche II condominium sites. Out of the 118 kilometres, 50 kilometres will be asphalt, and the remaining section will be made of gravel. The road widths will span from 15 metres to 50 metres. 

A remarkable fact is that the project will employ over 2,000 people. The Corporation’s Chief Executive officer, Yonas Ayalew, signed an agreement with the Director-general at the Authority, Moges Tibebu. This agreement allocated 6 billion Birr (approx. US$152 million) to construct 100 road projects and states that the parties will be contracted through direct bidding. "The Authority has finalized the design of the roads," said Tibebu. "Although there is room for improvement as the contractor sees fit."

Although this will be the first job for the Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation within the capital, it is in charge of other 72 ventures in other parts of the country that are worth over 47 billion Birr (approx. US$1.19 billion). According to the Communications Affairs Manager, Mr. Tinfu Luche, the corporation is looking forward to being involved in more projects in the capital. This is because of its newest branch that was opened in the city. 

Addis Ababa currently has a total of 4,843 kilometres of asphalt, gravel, and cobblestone roads. According to Argaw Arsha (Ph.D.), the Deputy Director-General at the Construction Project Management Institute, synchronization with other essential infrastructure is essential. Some of these include electricity, water, telecom, and sewerage lines. 

All these infrastructures are essential in constructing local street road networks like this project.  "This is essential if we are to avoid digging up the same roads sometime later to create necessary water and sewerage lines," he explained. "The roads should also take into consideration green areas and playgrounds of the condominiums."

Photo: Access road to new bridge across river Blue Nile near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia (Artushfoto | Dreamstime)

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