The Ethiopian cabinet has approved a 60 million dollar for the construction of the Meskel Square-Bole Airport road

Ethiopia, November 10, 2011-The Ethiopian Council of Ministers has approved a 60 million dollar loan for the construction of the Meskel Square-Bole Airport road. The 20 year loan made by China Export Import (EXIM) bank is pending approval by the parliament.

The Addis Ababa City Roads Authority is preparing for the construction anticipated to start immediately after approval.

Studies on traffic management and land demarcation are under way said Engineer Fekade Haile Manager of AACRA. Traffic management during construction is a significant concern for the roads authority.
It is expected that construction will only close of one side of the road with sidewalks by the open lane paved to widen the road to maximize capacity said Yared Mekonnen Computer Aided Design expert.

The Authority will also employ supplementary junctions to reduce traffic load he added. The construction will not affect buildings except for the demolishing of some fences said Yared.

Utility providers have been notified to dig out pipes, fibre optic cables, and electricity line and relocate then to the future sidewalks he explained. The process of moving all utility lines is expected to take six months according to Yared.

The construction will commence on a phase by phase basis with the first phase being the Olympia overpass.

The construction of the Meskel Square-Bole Airport Road has been in the works for about five years. Cabinet approval has been secured in the fast approaching completion target set for 2013.

The project has encountered various hurdles that challenged its construction including a change in contractors from Enyi construction originally awarded the project to the China Road and Bridge Corporation.

The Project was also put on hold because of lack of financing exacerbated by the effects of the birr devaluation on the original cost estimations in dollars.Source: Addis Fortune