Addis Chamber to construct HQ with 100 mln br

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (AACCSA) selected a conceptual design for the construction of its headquarter at a projected cost of up to 100 million birr.

The chamber plans to finalize the construction of its headquarters in three years and hopes to resolve the controversy with the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations over the current building usage.

However, AACCSA has not yet secured a plot from Addis Ababa City Administration for the construction of its HQ.

AACCSA spent several years in a dispute with ECCSA over the usage of the current building that rests on a 4,000m2 which is currently used by both chambers. This building was constructed in 1964 at a cost of 1.9 million birr. It has been returned to the ECCSA in 2008, after nationalized by the Derg regime in 1976.

“We just announced that we will leave the current building we are sharing with ECCSA as the dispute has to end at this point in time” said Getachew Reggassa, Secretary General of the AACCSA.

AACCSA officials still argue that the previous building belongs to AACCSA as it’s is constructed by the business community of Addis Ababa. “It is very commendable to readdress that the building the chamber currently is using was constructed by Addis Ababan merchants,” Ayalew Zegeye, President of the AACCSA, said. Read more