Interview: Paolo Elmi, General Manager of Elmi Olindo Construction Company
Established in 1937, Elmi Olindo Construction is one of the oldest building companies in Ethiopia; in fact it is one of the first business enterprises in Ethiopia.
Paolo Elmi, general manager of the company and his brother took over the family business from their father. Over the passage of time, the Italian firm has embarked on many projects. The long-serving buildings for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are some of monumental structures that the Elmi family name is attached to. Recently, the company reassured its presence in industry by completing six projects, including a project for East Africa Bottling SC (Coca Cola’s bottler) and the US-based Center for Disease Control (CDC) funded Gondar Referral Comprehensive Outpatient Hospital. Some 180 million birr was spent in the construction of the hospital. The company is also working with Ethiopian Airlines and Dashen Beer Factory among others. Birhanu Fikade of The Reporter caught up with Paolo Elmi, who speaks fluent Amharic (the working local language of Ethiopia), at the inauguration ceremony of the referral hospital for a brief interview regarding the ups and downs of Ethiopian construction industry.
Read more at: The Reporter
