Giant Real Estate Developer Bids To Construct Ten Addis Light Railway Train Stations
Expresses interest to penetrate into housing projects Property giant P3 International has expressed an interest in the ongoing light railway project and various government housing schemes, and will provide cash finance together with design and operational resources if successful with its proposals, The Reporter learnt.
Assefa Woldemichael, head of P3-Africa in Ethiopia, told The Reporter that his company is willing to have a business relationship with the government through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework. "We are the pioneers of introducing PPP to the world. We have the expertise to plan, design, operate and finance a number of projects at a time," Assefa said.
The Light Railway Transit (LRT) project is currently planning to develop some ten major stations out of the 39 in the capital. Following the initiative of the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC), P3 is pushing to undertake the development. The new Transit Oriented Development (TOD) scheme plans to develop stations with commercial, residential and recreational buildings, aimed to finance the USD 470 million the government borrowed from China.
According to Assefa, P3 has the resources to manage the construction of ten stations, and it has proposed a model for the Laghar station, where some 1.2 sq kms of land is set to be renovated.
In a related news, P3 is also keen to take part in the 40/60, 20/80 and 10/90 government housing projects. To date, more than one million Addis Ababa residents have registered in the schemes. According to Assefa, P3 will bring as much as 60 percent of the total finance, and by the schedule of the government will complete one million houses in just two years.
Assefa said that P3 has submitted letters to the Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Construction, and is awaiting a response.
It is a busy time for P3, as the company also plans to construct a continental referral hospital in Ethiopia which, according to Assefa, will save the expense and time for some 60,000 Ethiopians who travel to Asian countries for budget care. And it is also keen to develop a children's village in Addis Ababa, which Assefa says will be similar to the world-class projects that P3 operate in Dubai.
Source: The Reporter
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