The Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST) is set to commence the construction of its 3.6 billion Br research centre after compensating the Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation for 3.5ha of land.
The Ministry agreed to pay 70 million Br for the piece of land that currently belongs to the Corporation’s Orma Garage, located on Wendimneh Street, close to Sheraton Addis Hotel. The plot was secured from the city administration a year and a half ago for the construction of a centre for technology development, incubation and research.
The funding for the centre comes from the coffers of the government, according to Mustafa Abdulsemed, director of the public relations and communications directorate at the Ministry.
It will include a science museum, a library, and conference rooms and is expected to be finalised within five to seven years.
“The centre will help develop awareness about science and scientific innovations, and will be instrumental in encouraging young academics to create valuable scientific innovations,” Mustafa said.
Engdawork Assefa (PhD), Associate Dean for Research & Technology Transfer, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, agrees that the project is a step in the right direction for young academics.
“This was one of the areas that did not get adequate attention previously,” he told Fortune.
The main consultant for the project was the Ethiopian Construction Design & Supervision Works Corporation (ECDSWCo), which was established in 2015 after the merger of three public enterprises – the Water Works Design & Supervision Enterprise (WWDSE), Construction Design and Transport Construction Design.
For the past year and a half, from the time the Ministry received the land for construction, the project had been challenged with having to free the land from its previous owner, the Corporation. On the plot of land was the state-run auto repair shop Orma Garage.
“Although the Corporation had agreed with the Ministry to relocate to a new site, the City Administration’s Land Management Bureau failed to provide another plot of land for the Garage”, according to Yeserah Bishaw, deputy director-general for the construction materials and machinery management wing of the Corporation, which was established with an initial capital of over 20 billion Br. It is supervised by the Ministry of Public Enterprises (MoPE). Its most recent construction was that of the Gidabo Irrigation Dam, 376Km away from Addis Abeba.
The current headquarters of the Ministry is located adjacent to the Garage, and the Corporation had relented before to agree to the Ministry’s request of around 0.06ha of land, a part of the 3.5ha that has been compensated for now.
The area was used by the Ministry for storage facilities and residential houses for security personnel, according to Yeserah.
“The Ministry’s decision to expand is part of the National Development Agenda, but our concern was that we should get an appropriate amount of land for the construction of our expansion project,” he explained.
The Corporation, which was established with the merger of three state-owned public enterprises – the Ethiopian Road Construction Corporation, the Ethiopian Water Works Construction Enterprise and the Ethiopian Prefabricated Building Parts Production Enterprise, is planning to expand and transform the Garage into an assembly plant.
The Ministry at first estimated the value of the land to be at eight million Birr, a value which was later bumped up to 70 million Br after a series of negotiations.
“We still have some reservations concerning the amount of compensation payment made to us,” Yeserah told Fortune. “The amount is not fair compared to the services that the garage provides to the many public and private enterprises in the country.”