Fortune News | Jun 18,2022
Addis Abeba’s public land lease system is quietly entering a phase of contraction. Fewer plots are being offered, fewer bidders are showing up, and the city’s stated objective of broadening access to land ownership is increasingly at odds with outcomes on the ground.
The eighth round of public land lease auctions, held last week inside the Bole District meeting hall, near Megenagna, made this shift unmistakable.
The auction, the third round of the current budget year and the latest after a five-year hiatus in public land offerings, brought only 134 plots to market, covering about 39,601Sqm across eight of the 11 districts. By count and area, it was the smallest offering compared to previous auction.
Three months earlier, the seventh round had featured 274 plots, totalling close to 70,000Sqm. The latest round represented a contraction of more than 44pc in plot supply in a city already besieged by acute land scarcity.
The reduction was not merely the result of limited availability. When the City Land Development & Management Bureau began selling auction documents on January 5, 2026, it planned to offer roughly 77,000Sqm.
Ahead of the auction, however, 86 plots, most of them in Lideta District, were withdrawn, cutting the final offering almost in half.
Officials attributed the removals to ownership disputes, legal litigations, and inconsistencies with revised land-use plans.
According to Kibrom Assefa, chairperson of the Land Auction Committee, some plots were reclaimed for public projects, while others were found to conflict with zoning designations.
“A plot announced as residential may later be identified in the city plan as land reserved for a public plaza,” he told Fortune.
But for market participants, the repeated post-announcement reversals have become more than an administrative inconvenience.
Ermias Fkade, a long-time observer of the real estate sector, argued they are eroding confidence in the auction system itself. He called the practice “negligence that discourages serious bidders,” particularly individuals participating for housing or development purposes rather than speculation.
“Plots should only be announced once they are fully cleared of claims by all relevant authorities,” he said. “Frequent changes favour intermediaries, while ordinary bidders bear the uncertainty.”
The data from the latest auction lend weight to concerns about weakening participation. Bidder turnout fell to 2,067, down from 3,255 in the previous round, a 36.5pc decline in just three months. Ermias attributed the drop to shrinking supply, unreliable auction information, and escalating prices that increasingly require full upfront payment to remain competitive.
Although the Bureau officially requires only a 40pc down payment, bidders are increasingly paying 100pc at auction, a voluntary practice that advantages well-capitalised participants.
Price movements suggest a market tightening around scarcity rather than broad-based access.
Kolfe Qeranyo District recorded the highest prices for a square metre, placed by Umer Yibere, with a peak bid of 156,080 Br to lease 167Sqm, 16pc higher than the previous auction’s top price of 135,000 Br for a square metre in Gullele District. Smaller plots once again commanded the fiercest bid, revealing affordability constraints rather than rising household purchasing power. The second-highest bid was also recorded in Kolfe Qeranyo, where Alya Umer secured a 186Sqm plot for 135,300 Br a square metre.
At the other end of the spectrum, some districts saw striking price disparities.
A 500Sqm plot in Lemi Kura District auctioned for 13,101 Br per square metre, while a 76Sqm plot in Aqaqi Qality fetched 66,599 Br for a square metre, offered by Dejen Endris. The contrast revealed a market in which size, location, and bidder composition now matter more than any uniform pricing logic.
Bids for some plots were fierce. Haile Destaw, who participated in the auction in Lemi Kura’s Summit 72 area, told Fortune that he failed to secure land due to intense bid. He was one of the 110 bidders who vied for a single 130Sqm plot, which was eventually won by Kaleab Lema for 126,000 Br a square metre. About 27pc of all bidders in the latest auction contested in Lemi Kura. Qirqos and Addis Ketema districts also saw a heightened level of bidding, with 26 bidders contesting a single plot across the two districts.
Corporate players remain active. Ajewa Real Estate Plc secured the largest plot in the round, 1,919Sqm in Qirqos District, at 110,000 Br for a square metre, confirming that firms with access to capital continue to steer clear of the system with relative ease.
City officials insisted the auctions remain transparent and effective. Kibrom disclosed that only 10 of the 134 plots received no bids and will be reoffered. Yet, broader allocation figures raise questions about the role of public auctions in Addis Abeba’s land policy.
At a recent city council meeting, Mayor Adanech Abiebie said her Administration had transferred 4.83 million square metres of land this year, but only about 23.9hct, five percent, were allocated through public auctions.
That imbalance goes to the heart of the policy debate. Public land auctions were reintroduced to stabilise the land market, reduce rent-seeking, and widen access for middle- and lower-income residents. Instead, critics argue, they are increasingly serving a narrow segment able to absorb high upfront costs and administrative uncertainty.
PUBLISHED ON
Feb 08,2026 [ VOL
26 , NO
1345]
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