Six consultants are vying to supervise a recently launched 4.5-billion-Br road project, which incorporates eight asphalt and gravel road network projects around five condominium neighbourhoods in the city. Covering a total of 118Km, the construction is expected to take a year and a half.

The Addis Abeba Roads Authority, which closed the bid to hire a consultant on Thursday, November 26, 2020, will take 15 days to assess both financial and technical evaluations and choose one consultant to oversee the project.

The consultant will follow up on the inspection and quality control of construction, the approval of payments, as well as adherence to schedule and contractual duties. The Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation was hired for the construction of all the roads.

Fully funded by the City Administration, the roads are located in Bole Arabsa, Yeka-Tafo, Jemo Gara, Chefe and Koye Feche II condominium sites. The planned roads will cover a total of 118Km, out of which 50Km will be asphalt, while the remaining section will be gravel. All of the roads are expected to be finalised within 19 months. With road widths spanning from 15m to 50m, the project is expected to employ 2,000 people throughout the construction phase.

Yonas Ayalew, the Corporation's chief executive officer, signed the agreement earlier last month with Moges Tibebu, director-general at the Authority, which allocated close to a six-billion-Birr budget this fiscal year for the construction of 100 road projects and contracted out the project through direct bidding.

"The Authority has finalised the design of the roads," said Moges. "Although there is room for improvement as the contractor sees fit."

Bole Arabsa condominiums are the site for three of the road projects with a total of 14Km and 25Km of asphalt and gravel roads, respectively. It is expected to cost the Authority a little over two billion Birr. Two projects are taking places throughout the Koye Feche II condominiums, while Jemo Gara, Yeka Tafo and Chefe take up one project each. Koye Feche II will require 1.2 billion Br and will encompass the construction of both asphalt and gravel roads measuring 25.9Km and 32.4Km in length, respectively.

Yeka Tafo construction covers 4.7Km of asphalt and 8.8Km of gravel roads costing 752 million Br. With an expected delivery time of 12 months and an allocated budget of 301 million Br, Jemo Gara road project will incorporate 2.8Km of asphalt and 2.1Km of gravel roads.