ADDIS ABABA– The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa announced that the renovation of the historical Africa Hall, where the founders of Organization for African Unity-OAU were held their first assembly, will be inaugurated 21st October after years of delay.
Having organized a press tour to show the renovation progress, UNECA’s Africa Hall Division of Administration Project Manager Antonio Baio yesterday said that the iconic Africa Hall has undergone renovations to meet state-of-art conference hall standards while preserving historical significances.
The renovation is being carried out with special attention. Qualified contractors from various countries are engaging in the work. One of major principles behind the design of the building was to respect the African history so the renovation is also with respect to the history and the memory of Africa in UN, he highlighted.
“We respect most of historical characterizing parts of the building, like the facade, floors and the compound. The principle that was behind the conception of the building was conceived to be a state of the art conference for ceiling; the technology in the building was the first in Africa. It was the first building in the continent with this kind of technology allowing for instant interpretation for voting and broadcasting,” he said.
The objective of the renovation project is also to bring it back. The building is to be a real estate of [the then African leaders’] legacy. Now, the most advanced technology is installed, Antonio noted.
The UNECA is trying to balance among the respect of the architecture, the culture and historical value. The overall renovation will be inaugurated next month and expected to be great in making similarity with UN offices in Geneva and New York. “It was conceived to be one big building….[] It was like the office building like the glass building in New York. We have tried to recreate the same condition, same technology there”.
The building is integrated into the global conference engineering of the United Nations. The rest of the compound, UNECA has another big conference hall in same compound adjacent to Africa Hall. Renovations in other halls are also planned, he indicated.
Speaking about the inauguration of the Africa Hall induration, Antonio said that most of the construction projects are almost completed though late three years from the plan. It was supposed to finish the renovation by 2021 with 57 million USD budget.
BY YESUF ENDRIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2024
