Addis Abeba to Get New Traffic Lights
New technology will improve efficiency of traffic control, thus reduce congestion in the city.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – A contract for the installation of technologically advanced traffic lights at 14 junctions in the city is to be awarded by the Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA).
The tender for traffic lights and a processor was announced two months ago, at which point 10 companies, including ZTE, a leading Chinese telecommunications equipment company, purchased bid documents. However, only two joint ventures put up offers of 15 million Br and 72 million Br respectively, according to a source involved in the tender who declined to be named.
ACCRA has budgeted 30 million Br for the traffic lights, according to Elizabeth Tesfaye (Eng), road assets registration and maintenance study core process leader and member of the tender evaluating committee. But she declined to talk about the bid offers made to the Authority.
The idea to upgrade the existing traffic lights in the city came after Kassahun Hailemariam, director general of the Federal Transport Authority (FTA), Fekade Haile (Eng), general manager of the AACRA, and an engineer from Nehemiah Engineering Plc, a local company established in 2002, made a trip to observe the technology in Durban, a year ago, according to Fekade. A sample traffic light was then obtained from Traffic Lights Accessories (TSA), a South African company, and installed at the La Gare junction eight months ago by Nehemiah.
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