Lalibela Restoration Sees Additional 260m Br Grant

Oct 22 , 2022


Churches in Lalibela are to get additional funding for restoration as a follow-up to ongoing works that began in the early 2000s. The French Development Agency (AFD) has signed a 260 million Br additional grant for restoring rock-hewn churches in Lalibela town and its surroundings. The Agency, which has a presence in 115 countries handling over 4,000 projects, has inked an agreement with the Ministry of Finance. UNESCO had requested Ethiopian authorities to deliver additional studies and a strategy to preserve and restore the 11 churches. The previous work was conducted in Lalibela three years ago, costing 109 million Br. The AFD has granted the fund as additional support aiming to see the surrounding town integrated with the heritage site. The Lalibela site's preservation, restoration, and enhancement project was a commitment that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, made after paying a visit to the town in 2019.


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