The corridor development projects recently completed and entered into service by the initiation and supervision Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) have grabbed attention of many, local citizens and foreigners, for their effects of transforming the images of cities. Started from Addis Ababa, the capital of not only Ethiopia, but also of Africa, amusement of the corridor development made people put their hands on their mouth.
Due to the amazing project, Addis Ababa has become living its name “New Flower” driven by the city administration’s motto “We make Addis Ababa a new flower that fits its name”. Achievement of the first phase testified that officials of Addis Ababa City Administration proved their pledge by changing words into action.
Foreigners, including many of African leaders, have also amazed by the changes the city has shown in a short period of time and initiated to visit some parts of the city that include parks inside and at the outskirts of Addis.
The objective of the corridor development goes beyond beautifying cities; it also creates income through tourist attraction and availing jobs for citizens. Many job seekers have been privileged by securing jobs during and after the corridor development projects.
Following footsteps of Addis Ababa, many cities throughout the country have begun to apply corridor development. Among these is Butajira City of Central Ethiopia Region.
According to Abdo Ahmed, Mayor of Butajira City Administration, corridor development projects are saving cities from urban sprawl and aging, and the second phase of the corridor development project has begun in Butajira City.
The corridor development is operational with high participation of the city’s community. He said that 101 million Birr was collected for the corridor development project in just half a day of awareness creation discussions with the city’s community.
In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA); Abdo said that the corridor development project being carried out in Butajira City in the Central Ethiopian Region covers a total of 25 kilometers. The corridor development project started in Butajira City Administration under the Mayor’s Project and has now moved to the second phase, and it is planned to be completed in three phases. This corridor development project, which will save cities from urban sprawl and aging, has now entered its second phase.
Mayor Abdo said that the first phase is being implemented at a cost of more than 200 million Birr, and that the second phase has already begun, adding that this is a development that is being implemented through revenue collection and community participation. The work being done will cost up to half a billion birr. This money will not come from anyone else, but from internal resources. It is an open secret how the corridor development has transformed and beautified Addis Ababa. Thus, it is being implemented in this way, and that it is saving many cities from decay and aging.
According to him; the work being done in Butajira city related to the corridor development is good; Ethiopian cities do not meet international standards, so cities that suit Ethiopia are needed. Both residents and investors want cities that are preferred for living, business, investment, tourism centers, and conferences. For this reason, work is being done to beautify Butajira city even more.
The mayor said that there are also riverbanks and public squares in the city, and that many other works are included in the corridor development. The work being done is like rebuilding the city. “We are doing this in collaboration with our community and investors. We are working on it with joint efforts, determination and goals, thinking of it as a big project. The performance so far is better.”
According to Mayor Abdo; the participation of the city’s people in the corridor development is encouraging. In just half a day of discussions with the public, 101 million Birr was collected from the people themselves. This is not an easy experience. Because the community, even though it was vacating its place and demolishing its house, rebuilt its own house and helped the corridor development, it was found to be very supportive. As a result, the city’s administrative staffs are doing their work with quality, speed and determination.
“We are working with the goal of passing on a better city to the next generation. This work is showing better results. This is what the feedback from the public and institutions is indicating,” he said.
The testimony to this is that anyone can see a community that supports the development of the corridor by donating millions of birr even though its house is being demolished due to the development of the corridor. The residents are happy without complaining about the demolition of the building and are supporting it by saying, “I will also donate my tithe to my city.” This is an unexpected kindness. He indicated that this people are also expected to be rewarded with development from the officials.
Butajira City’s Municipality Infrastructure Development Directorate Director, Nesrellah Aman, on his part told EPA that the corridor development project includes all forms of the facilities like parking lots, bike lanes, walk ways, greenery areas, fountains and plaza.
According to Nesrellah, projects cost over 250 million Birr are underway in Butajira City with regular and municipality budget. In line with this, projects that uplift the city’s livability such as cobblestone roads, drainages, ditches, and bridges have been constructed during the past years. Asphalt roads serve connecting different kebeles in the city and with the surrounding towns have been constructed with the city’s own capacity via mobilizing resources.
Regarding the corridor development, the initiative is taken from Addis Ababa and the first phase was begun in three cities of the region; Butajira, Hossaena and Halaba named Mayor’s Project under the directive set by Endashaw Tassew (PhD) President of the Central Ethiopia Region. The first phase of the project is 2.2 km in the city while the overall corridor development covers 25 km when completed.
The project performance is at good stage to be finalized in two phases as per the schedule of Capital Investment Program (CIP) of which 17.5 km or 70% will be completed at the end of the coming March and the remaining 25% will be gone through at the end of the budget year underway.
On top of transforming the city, the corridor development created good work culture. The project is conducted by five contractors in three shifts a day. Workers could develop working habit engaged in day and night shifts. In line with this, people’s initiation and commitment deserve great appreciation. Developing a sense of ownership, the city’s community paid great sacrifice by clearing the areas of the corridor development via knocking down their buildings, houses and even commercial places without any compensation but solely having a vision of seeing transformed city of their own like cities in other parts of the country. As a result, the city has now transformed to the first level city standard fulfilling all necessary criteria needed from a city at the same level.
The project created ample of jobs for citizens during the construction and after for those engaged in different businesses. During the corridor development alone, about 1,200 youths could secure job opportunity under the five contractors.
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2025
