An attempt being made to clean up rivers in Addis Ababa and use them for recreation officially began at a ceremony held near Sheraton Addis in the presence of Takele Uma, Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa. The Addis Ababa River Side Project, an initiative of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, will focus on developing two river lines and will cost 29 billion birr.
Varnero Construction will handle building the riverside spots at a cost of 2.5 billion birr. At first they will make a sample project from central Addis to Entoto Hill. Twenty-five percent of the funding has been secured from the Chinese government.
The development project will run along the two biggest rivers in Addis Ababa, stretching 23.8km and 27.5km respectively all the way from Entoto to Akaki. It is expected to be finished in three years.