A struggle over management responsibility and development plans unfolds as a supervisory board severed the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Association’s (AACSSA) management contract for the city’s Exhibition Center & Market Development Enterprise, launching the city administration and the Chamber into a potential legal conflict.

Late last week, in a move that surprised industry insiders, a five-member supervisory board established by Mayor Adanech Abiebe terminated the Chamber’s contract to manage the Exhibition Centre, at Meskel Square. Chaired by Binyam Mikru, head of the city’s Trade Bureau, the Board is comprised of Girma Beka, Cabinet Affairs head; Lidya Tadesse head of the Addis Abeba Peace & Security Bureau; Girma Seifu, head of the city’s Investment Commission; Girma Gide, deputy head of the Addis Abeba Finance Bureau; and Weynshet Zerihun, head of the Women, Children & Social Affairs Bureau.

A long-contested revenue-sharing arrangement fails to align with the city’s development ambitions, according to Binyam. He told the Chamber’s leaders last month that the City’s vision is to transform the 2.8hct plot into a sprawling convention centre. The move was met with immediate pushback, with the Chamber convening an emergency meeting within days at the upscale Skylight Hotel, appealing against the termination. They waited two days before the announced termination to respond in an eight-page letter, addressed to the City Administration Cabinet and the Mayor.

Mesnebet Shenkute, president of AACSSA, voiced her frustrations, emphasising the Chamber’s dedication to the Centre over nearly two decades.

“We’ve sacrificed a lot for the Centre,” she told Fortune, hinting at the broader implications, notably potential disruptions to trade fairs.

She recalled the Chamber has put up significant sums to keep the Exhibition Centre up and running over the past 18 years.

“This will create a lot of issues,” said the President.

However, the supervisory board paints a different picture. Its members contend that the Chamber has consistently underperformed, noting that the four-decade-old compound has seen few to no renovations under the metropolitan Chamber’s watch. Dismissing the Chamber’s claims as a mere “tantrum,” he noted, “We weren’t looking for a babysitter.”

He insisted that the Chamber had failed to add value, alleging its leaders have not even “lifted a rock” during their tenure.

“We weren’t sharing the property but contracting it,” Biniam told Fortune.

Beyond the war of words, there are bigger stakes. Binyam hinted that prospective investors have expressed interest in partnering with the City Administration for the convention centre project. The City authorities argue that this possibility could transform the Centre into a commercial hub, further enhancing the capital’s regional prominence.

Legal experts are flagging potential challenges.