Abyssinia Bank Awards 60-Storey Construction Project to Chinese Firm


Abyssinia Bank Awards 60-Storey Construction Project to Chinese Firm

The Bank of Abyssinia has awarded the contract for the construction of a 60-storey building in Addis Abeba's financial district to China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. The Bank's executives estimate the project will cost over three billion Birr. The Chinese contractor was the firm behind the construction of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia's (CBE) 48-storey headquarter building in Senga Tera. It also built the African Union Conference Centre in the Sarbet area. The firm won the contract to erect Abyssinia's building last December following an international tender. The Bank solidified its position as an industry leader with a noteworthy performance last year, netting 1.34 billion Br in profits. An 86.6pc growth in deposits mobilised drove the growth, while the Bank's paid-up capital has reached 7.2 billion Br, surpassing the central bank's revised minimum threshold of five billion Birr. The building is set to be an addition to the banking headquarters recently erected in Senga Tera. The CBE inaugurated its tower earlier this year, following in the footsteps of Hibret and Nib banks, which have also set up shop in the financial district. Zemen Bank is expected to inaugurate its headquarters in the coming months.

[ssba-buttons]

Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...