A Chinese state-owned firm that is constructing major buildings in the country has just secured another project to build Oromia Insurance's head office for 1.1 billion Br. Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic & Technical Cooperation will construct the 35-storey building at the heart of Mexico Square.

Pan Weigas, on behalf of Jiangxi, signed the contractual agreement with Tegistu Shiferaw, acting CEO of Oromia, early last week. Jiangxi Corporation was hired after winning a bid that was floated at the end of last year. The bid initially drew the attention of nine contractors, but only five of them submitted their price offer.

China State Construction & Engineering Corporation, which is building the headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia; China Communications Construction Company (CCCC); Rama Construction Plc; and Dugda Construction Plc all made offers along with the winner. Jiangxi Corporation, which will work on the structural work of the building, won the bid by offering the lowest price of 1.1 billion Br.

The firm has previously secured deals to build Wegagen Bank’s headquarters for one billion Birr, the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Addis Abeba, and the headquarters of the Private Organisations Employees' Social Security Agency for 682 million Br. It is expected to finalise Oromia's headquarters in three years.

Expected to rest on 3,004Sqm of land near Mexico Square, the building is estimated to cost the insurance firm somewhere between 1.5 billion Br and two billion Birr. The building is slated to be completed in three phases: shoring and excavation; structural work; and finishing.

The shoring and excavation work was awarded to Anchor Foundation Specialist Plc a year ago. The first stage has been completed by the contractor that was hired for 70 million Br. Anchor had also worked on the foundation construction for the headquarters of United and Nib banks, Marriot International Hotel, and the Addis Abeba Light Railway Transit Qality Terminal.

Zeleke Belay Architects designed the building after winning the design bid floated in 2018. It will also supervise the construction of the building.

This is a long-term investment, according to Tegistu. Oromia Insurance has been paying seven million Birr annually to Oromia International Bank in rental fees for its current headquarters. The insurance company occupies a fifth of the 13-floor building on Africa Avenue.