District Retrieves Land for Regional Broadcaster

Sep 21 , 2019. By YOSEPH MERGU ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

About 26 residential units that rest on 2,953Sqm of land in Kirkos District will be relocated, leaving the area for the expansion project of the regional broadcaster of Oromia Regional State.

The residential units of Wereda 01, which are located off Africa Avenue behind the Dembel City Centre, have received a letter from the District to report to the Land Management Office. In the notice that was issued on August 20, 2019, the residents were informed to submit their documents of land ownership to secure land for relocation and compensation.

Out of the total residential units, six of them are private properties, while the remaining are municipal houses, according to Kirkos District Land Development & Urban Renewal Office.

Though the district states that the land was allocated for the Oromia Urban Development & Housing Bureau, sources close to the case confirm that it is designated for the expansion project of Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN). OBN has already started the construction of a new media complex in the same area.

Resting on 4,893Sqm of land, the project is under construction with a budget of nearly 1.5 billion Br. China State Construction Engineering Ethiopia was hired for the construction of the complex last year. Established as Oromia Radio & Television Organization in July 2006, the station started broadcasting in 2008, while its radio programmes began a year later from its studios in Adama.

Oromia Water Works Design & Supervision Enterprise was also hired to consult on the 11-storey building project. It is expected to have 10 studios, all located between the ninth and 11th floors, and a mix of television and radio production studios ranging in size from 600Sqm to 60Sqm.

The compensation process will be handled under the compensation law, according to Deressa Fite, head of the District's Land Development & Urban Renewal Office.

"The residents who will be relocating from the area will be treated in three ways," Deressa said.

Private property owners will get replacement land at the centre of the city or at the areas that are designated for relocation purposes based on their choice and with compensation. Residents of municipal houses will be offered condominium houses or alternative municipal houses.

Recently, the parliament has legislated a proclamation that privileges property owners relocated from their land for investment purposes to own shares in the investment project.

Drafted by the Ministry of Urban Development & Construction, the bill replaces a 14-year-old proclamation after being approved early last week. The proclamation also calls for the formation of a rehabilitation fund that will administer help to relocated people. It will also enable the farmers to get a fair and proportional replacement of land.

PUBLISHED ON Sep 21,2019 [ VOL 20 , NO 1012]