New building planned at confiscated Piazza Midroc site

New discussions are underway at the Addis Ababa City Administration to resolve the issue of a confiscated G+4 project partially constructed by MIDROC.
The city has decided to compensate MIDROC, which invested millions of birr in the building but stopped construction after it had built some ground pillars and floors.
“When we compensate MIDOC we will consider the money they have spent while at the same time taking into account the wasted years of unsuccessful construction, if MIDROC had completed the building on time they would have earned money,” a source close to the issue said.
According to the source a new G+4 building will be constructed.
Capital asked the source about the timing of construction, how the building would be used and when it would be finished.
For the past two weeks the city has been partially using the land at Piassa as a bus terminal for Midi Buses traveling to Bole, Mexico, Saris and Sar Bet. When building construction begins the terminal will be relocated.
“Discussions are still ongoing when we reach agreement about the cost of the building we will use it as a government or business center,” the source said.
Some 20 years ago MIDROC received three hectares of land from the city to build a G+4 building. They partially did so but then changed the design and did not finish it.
Recently the Addis Ababa’s new Deputy Mayor, Takele Uma ordered the City Land Management Bureau to confiscate 11 fenced plots of land owned by MIDROC and put them into the land bank. Limited construction had been ongoing on those plots over the past two decades.
The city had been criticized for allowing MIDROC to hold on to idle land for such a long time, and since they failed to start construction the government took the land and plans to re-sell it via tender.
The fenced land in Mexico Square was planned for a business building. Another plot next to the Sheraton Addis Hotel was taken away from MIDROC even though they had paid 87 million birr to relocate people who lived on that land. The company says they plan to appeal. In total MIDROC lost 250,413 square meters of land.