Simfan34
September 12th, 2010, 05:13 PM
It has seemed to me that over the past few months, there has been a new project popping up in Addis Abeba every week or so. I struck me that I might want to share these with you.
So here are the projects from the past few weeks
WEEK OF AUGUST 1
ACCESS RESORT HOTEL (is this really the building?)
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6369/11747113.jpg
For any curious observer of Addis Abeba’s real estate market, the promise made by managers of Access Capital Services SC, to hand over flats in two five-storey buildings within a year’s time, is indeed unique. Yet, what took the industry by surprise is their pledge to pay back homebuyers the full amount they pay upfront with 15pc annual interest, an amount above the rate banks charge borrowers, when and if the company fails to complete the apartments within a year.
In cases where homebuyers are reluctant to get their money back and want the flats they pay for, Access’s managers promise to pay monthly rental fees of up to 5,000 Br, until the time they hand over these flats to their buyers. The company has been selling these offers, running full-page ads in the newspapers in town, and inserting colourful supplements, with three-dimensional illustrations of the different types of flats.
Managers at Access will deliver the houses on time, they are confident; albeit theirs is a unique commitment. But what attracted many buyers, more than the time in which the developers promised to complete the construction, was the irresistible prices tagged on the different types of flats. The apartments include studios at 365,000 Br, one bedroom units at 495,000 Br, two bedroom units 649,000 Br, and three bedroom units 750,000 Br, including value-added tax (VAT).
Many people, over 23, according to some sources, have already bought these houses; in some cases, there are buyers who bought two or three flats.
.....................
Neither Access Capital Homes nor its subsidiary, Access Real Estate, has leased any plot directly from the City Government. They are rather known for an apartment building under construction adjacent to Nyala Motors. The plot once belonged to an individual who sold his lease rights to Access Real Estate, a public company established two years ago with over 600 shareholders, where Access Capital Services is one of the major shareholders.
The apartment near Megenagna is halfway through the construction phase, but all of the flats are sold out, according to reliable sources.
The second project bearing the name Access and with two blocks comprising 160 flats is planned to be constructed on a 8,233sqm plot, located in Yeka District, in front of the CMC compound. Developers promise to complete the construction work within a year, owing to the construction technology they plan to introduce for the first time in the local housing market. The use of steel structures (as opposed to concrete) and prefabricated magnesium oxide board (instead of bricks or shallow blocks) will drive prices down, for the benefit of homebuyers, they also believe.
Whether or not magnesium oxide board is cheaper than blocks is challenged by engineers in the industry. But, its strength (it is the material used to manufacture pull balls) and the speed in which it is manufactured for assembly is unchallenged. Ethiopia has a bigger deposit of magnesium oxide, in the Adolla area, Oromia Regional State, than the United States and China have, experts believe.
Access Capital Services has entered into a contract with two local sister companies, Living Steel Construction Plc and Ybel Industrial Plc, to be supplied with both steel structures and magnesium oxide boards. Using these materials will make it a pioneering firm in the real estate industry.
The two companies, whose plant is in a huge warehouse inside La Gare Railway Station in Addis Abeba, rented from the Ethio-Djibouti Railway Enterprise, has hired four foreign experts with similar construction experience in Qatar. These experts, from Belgium, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, will train and supervise local employees who will assemble the prefabricated houses at Access’s site in the CMC area, says Yonas Tadesse, general manager of Living Steel Construction Plc.
The building type offers quality, durability and faster and more efficient installation for low-rise residential and non-residential construction, according to Befekadu Asefa, project manager of Living Steel Construction Plc. The boards use materials that can absorb heat and sound, according to Albert Van Tonder, the contracted Belgian. It is also resistant to fire and extreme weather conditions, the managers claim.
The local construction industry is a stranger to this. It is, instead, very familiar with concrete structures and shallow blocks. Both consume huge quantities of cement, whose price has escalated by over 300pc since 2005. And it takes time to put them together.
It is this new technology that will be used for the first time that Access’s managers are banking on to back their promises with. The technology will use less cement than conventional steel and shallow block structures, they believe, leading to reduced overall construction costs, and taking half the time needed for assembly.
“It is great to be a pioneer,” said a real estate developer who will hand over homes in the Lebu area to buyers in a few weeks. “But I would not dare to take that risk.”
The man behind the real estate project and general manager of Access Capital Services, Ermias T. Amelga, is known for his daring initiatives.
Ever since he came back from the United States in the mid-1990s, where he has just been over the past couple of weeks selling his new initiatives, he took over an edible oil mill from the state and turned it into the first water bottling plant, paving the way for the emergence of a new industry that is thriving now. Ermias pushed the limits to re-establish a share dealing group, once operational during the Emperor’s time, but with little success. Although his dreams of forming the first private equity firm may not have taken off in the way he originally planned it, has today’s Access Capital Services SC led the birth of the embryonic share companies market that has flourished.
Ermias was the promoter of what came to be Zemen Bank and is now its board chairman. It is a bank known for introducing bold moves in the banking industry, such as lending based on the viability of projects (away from traditional collateral based loans) and a commercial bank operating with a one branch concept but relying on much technology.
Many bankers in the industry are sceptical about whether these initiatives will work, such as advancing loans without collateralising assets. Yet, they cannot stop admiring his guts and daring moves.
“He thinks of business in the mindset of a US businessperson,” said a businessman resettled from the US in the real estate market.
That mindset is the desire and ability to take risks.
WEEK OF AUGUST 8
SUNSHINE DEVELOPMENT TAKES OFF
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8206/mg4165.jpg
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20489%20%20Images/images/shunshine_01.jpg
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20489%20%20Images/images/shunshine_02.jpg
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20489%20%20Images/images/shunshine_03.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4567/1483977586b05909807dbxj6.jpg
One is nearing completion
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/669/2345512954c9bffb7f64ose7.jpg
Marriott’s representatives scheduled to come to Addis next week
By Hayal Alemayehu
Sunshine Construction Plc has received a 4000sq.m. plot it requested a year ago from the Addis Ababa City Administration for a Marriott hotel project.
The company has almost finalized the construction work of what is projected to become a five-star executive apartment hotel project, Marriott Executive Apartment, built around Estifanos Church off Meskel Square.
The company has been negotiating with the management of Marriott to secure a franchise agreement for the hotel apartment it constructed. However, it was required to build a purpose built hotel with more than 250 rooms if it were to clinch the franchise agreement.
This forced the construction company to construct additional rooms which will help it to fulfill the basic requirement in order to secure the agreement.
The franchise agreement will involve the management of what will become the first Marriott apartment and courtyard hotels in Ethiopia to be built and owned by Sunshine Construction Plc.
If all goes according to plan, Marriott International will manage the five-star executive apartment hotel and the four-star hotel resort, Courtyard Marriott, to be built on the 4000sq.m. plot.
“In order to manage a hotel under its brand, Marriott requires that the hotel should, at least, have 250 rooms,” Samuel Tafesse, managing director of the company told The Reporter. “It is mandatory that we launch the construction of the courtyard hotel. The hotel apartment has 110 rooms while the courtyard will have 160.
“We had earlier on signed an initial agreement with Marriott and the construction of what will become the first Marriott Executive Hotel Apartment will be in accordance with the agreement,” Samuel said.
The final agreement between the two parties is expected to take place this year.
According to Samuel, the overall interior design of the executive hotel apartment was undertaken by Marriott International, for which Sunshine paid USD 50,000.
Sunshine Construction PIC will invest over 250 million birr in the Marriott Executive Apartment when the project is completed while the investment layout for the Courtyard Marriott is projected to hit 200 million birr.
Representatives of Marriott International are scheduled to come to Addis Ababa next week to diseases the franchise agreement with Sunshine Construction PIC, according to Samuel.
Marriott International is a leading lodging company, according to information posted at its website. Its heritage can be traced to a root beer stand opened in Washington, D.C., in 1927 by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. Today, Marriott International has more than 3,200 lodging properties located in the United States and 66 other countries and territories.
Sunshine construction heats up
By Muluken Yewondwossen
Sunshine Real Estate, a partner of Sunshine Construction, will launch the construction of low cost apartments for middle income residents of the capital. The company officially inaugurated 210 Ground + One villas a week ago constructed at CMC area on Mere Luke site at the cost of 364 million birr.
Dangameyelw Girma, head of business development and public relations for Sunshine, told Capital that his company will construct 334 high level luxurious villas around CMC and that other luxury condos and middle income apartments will be built in new areas at Bole Beshale, Megenagna, Estifanos and CMC.
Until 2016 the real estate developer plans to construct about 5 billion birr worth of residential houses in different areas of the capital. According to the business development and public relations head, 14 middle class apartments will be constructed at CMC area at a cost of 1.2 billion birr. “The low cost apartments and villas will be erected on Bole Beshale site,” he added. Another 334 deluxe villas will be constructed on Mere Luke at Hill View project that worth about 2.2 billion birr.
The 26, Bole Beshale low cost apartments will be erected on 50,000 square meters at the cost of 220 million birr and the 89 villas will also be built on another 50,000 square meter area that will consume 140 million birr. The Bole Beshale project includes the construction of 75 middle class villas at the cost of 180 million birr on the area of 50,000 square meters.
The other new project is the Megenagna ten deluxe apartments that have 10 floors. The Megenagna project will be built on about 14,000 square meters at a cost of 500 million birr. Sunshine also plans to construct ten fifteen floor apartments around Estifanos area at cost of 750 million birr.
Two years ago the company transferred 151 villas from the houses built in CMC to buyers. last week they trasfered 59 villas, and rented a supermarket, gymnasium, swimming pool, clinic, and a football field.
The developer has spent about 36 million birr for the compound’s additional facilities.
Samuel Taffese, head and owner of Sunshine Construction said that his company constructed seven additional rooms to be used as offices for the compound residents association.
The company has also constructed and transferred over 711 luxury condo houses around Gerji, the project also has 27 shops and 15 luxury villas, and another 11 apartment buildings have erected on CMC areas.
In addition to residential home, Sunshine has also focused on road and hotel construction where it has registered strong performances. It inaugurated three asphalt road projects during the previous fiscal year for the Ethiopian Roads Authority.
Currently, several real estate developers are registered in Addis Ababa. Still, many have failed to meet their deadlines for transferring homes to customers.
Meanwhile the government has launched the construction of low cost houses all over the country and transferred tens of thousands condominium houses in six years. The capital’s housing demand continues to grow as demand outpaces supply.
So here are the projects from the past few weeks
WEEK OF AUGUST 1
ACCESS RESORT HOTEL (is this really the building?)
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6369/11747113.jpg
For any curious observer of Addis Abeba’s real estate market, the promise made by managers of Access Capital Services SC, to hand over flats in two five-storey buildings within a year’s time, is indeed unique. Yet, what took the industry by surprise is their pledge to pay back homebuyers the full amount they pay upfront with 15pc annual interest, an amount above the rate banks charge borrowers, when and if the company fails to complete the apartments within a year.
In cases where homebuyers are reluctant to get their money back and want the flats they pay for, Access’s managers promise to pay monthly rental fees of up to 5,000 Br, until the time they hand over these flats to their buyers. The company has been selling these offers, running full-page ads in the newspapers in town, and inserting colourful supplements, with three-dimensional illustrations of the different types of flats.
Managers at Access will deliver the houses on time, they are confident; albeit theirs is a unique commitment. But what attracted many buyers, more than the time in which the developers promised to complete the construction, was the irresistible prices tagged on the different types of flats. The apartments include studios at 365,000 Br, one bedroom units at 495,000 Br, two bedroom units 649,000 Br, and three bedroom units 750,000 Br, including value-added tax (VAT).
Many people, over 23, according to some sources, have already bought these houses; in some cases, there are buyers who bought two or three flats.
.....................
Neither Access Capital Homes nor its subsidiary, Access Real Estate, has leased any plot directly from the City Government. They are rather known for an apartment building under construction adjacent to Nyala Motors. The plot once belonged to an individual who sold his lease rights to Access Real Estate, a public company established two years ago with over 600 shareholders, where Access Capital Services is one of the major shareholders.
The apartment near Megenagna is halfway through the construction phase, but all of the flats are sold out, according to reliable sources.
The second project bearing the name Access and with two blocks comprising 160 flats is planned to be constructed on a 8,233sqm plot, located in Yeka District, in front of the CMC compound. Developers promise to complete the construction work within a year, owing to the construction technology they plan to introduce for the first time in the local housing market. The use of steel structures (as opposed to concrete) and prefabricated magnesium oxide board (instead of bricks or shallow blocks) will drive prices down, for the benefit of homebuyers, they also believe.
Whether or not magnesium oxide board is cheaper than blocks is challenged by engineers in the industry. But, its strength (it is the material used to manufacture pull balls) and the speed in which it is manufactured for assembly is unchallenged. Ethiopia has a bigger deposit of magnesium oxide, in the Adolla area, Oromia Regional State, than the United States and China have, experts believe.
Access Capital Services has entered into a contract with two local sister companies, Living Steel Construction Plc and Ybel Industrial Plc, to be supplied with both steel structures and magnesium oxide boards. Using these materials will make it a pioneering firm in the real estate industry.
The two companies, whose plant is in a huge warehouse inside La Gare Railway Station in Addis Abeba, rented from the Ethio-Djibouti Railway Enterprise, has hired four foreign experts with similar construction experience in Qatar. These experts, from Belgium, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, will train and supervise local employees who will assemble the prefabricated houses at Access’s site in the CMC area, says Yonas Tadesse, general manager of Living Steel Construction Plc.
The building type offers quality, durability and faster and more efficient installation for low-rise residential and non-residential construction, according to Befekadu Asefa, project manager of Living Steel Construction Plc. The boards use materials that can absorb heat and sound, according to Albert Van Tonder, the contracted Belgian. It is also resistant to fire and extreme weather conditions, the managers claim.
The local construction industry is a stranger to this. It is, instead, very familiar with concrete structures and shallow blocks. Both consume huge quantities of cement, whose price has escalated by over 300pc since 2005. And it takes time to put them together.
It is this new technology that will be used for the first time that Access’s managers are banking on to back their promises with. The technology will use less cement than conventional steel and shallow block structures, they believe, leading to reduced overall construction costs, and taking half the time needed for assembly.
“It is great to be a pioneer,” said a real estate developer who will hand over homes in the Lebu area to buyers in a few weeks. “But I would not dare to take that risk.”
The man behind the real estate project and general manager of Access Capital Services, Ermias T. Amelga, is known for his daring initiatives.
Ever since he came back from the United States in the mid-1990s, where he has just been over the past couple of weeks selling his new initiatives, he took over an edible oil mill from the state and turned it into the first water bottling plant, paving the way for the emergence of a new industry that is thriving now. Ermias pushed the limits to re-establish a share dealing group, once operational during the Emperor’s time, but with little success. Although his dreams of forming the first private equity firm may not have taken off in the way he originally planned it, has today’s Access Capital Services SC led the birth of the embryonic share companies market that has flourished.
Ermias was the promoter of what came to be Zemen Bank and is now its board chairman. It is a bank known for introducing bold moves in the banking industry, such as lending based on the viability of projects (away from traditional collateral based loans) and a commercial bank operating with a one branch concept but relying on much technology.
Many bankers in the industry are sceptical about whether these initiatives will work, such as advancing loans without collateralising assets. Yet, they cannot stop admiring his guts and daring moves.
“He thinks of business in the mindset of a US businessperson,” said a businessman resettled from the US in the real estate market.
That mindset is the desire and ability to take risks.
WEEK OF AUGUST 8
SUNSHINE DEVELOPMENT TAKES OFF
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8206/mg4165.jpg
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20489%20%20Images/images/shunshine_01.jpg
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20489%20%20Images/images/shunshine_02.jpg
http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20489%20%20Images/images/shunshine_03.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4567/1483977586b05909807dbxj6.jpg
One is nearing completion
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/669/2345512954c9bffb7f64ose7.jpg
Marriott’s representatives scheduled to come to Addis next week
By Hayal Alemayehu
Sunshine Construction Plc has received a 4000sq.m. plot it requested a year ago from the Addis Ababa City Administration for a Marriott hotel project.
The company has almost finalized the construction work of what is projected to become a five-star executive apartment hotel project, Marriott Executive Apartment, built around Estifanos Church off Meskel Square.
The company has been negotiating with the management of Marriott to secure a franchise agreement for the hotel apartment it constructed. However, it was required to build a purpose built hotel with more than 250 rooms if it were to clinch the franchise agreement.
This forced the construction company to construct additional rooms which will help it to fulfill the basic requirement in order to secure the agreement.
The franchise agreement will involve the management of what will become the first Marriott apartment and courtyard hotels in Ethiopia to be built and owned by Sunshine Construction Plc.
If all goes according to plan, Marriott International will manage the five-star executive apartment hotel and the four-star hotel resort, Courtyard Marriott, to be built on the 4000sq.m. plot.
“In order to manage a hotel under its brand, Marriott requires that the hotel should, at least, have 250 rooms,” Samuel Tafesse, managing director of the company told The Reporter. “It is mandatory that we launch the construction of the courtyard hotel. The hotel apartment has 110 rooms while the courtyard will have 160.
“We had earlier on signed an initial agreement with Marriott and the construction of what will become the first Marriott Executive Hotel Apartment will be in accordance with the agreement,” Samuel said.
The final agreement between the two parties is expected to take place this year.
According to Samuel, the overall interior design of the executive hotel apartment was undertaken by Marriott International, for which Sunshine paid USD 50,000.
Sunshine Construction PIC will invest over 250 million birr in the Marriott Executive Apartment when the project is completed while the investment layout for the Courtyard Marriott is projected to hit 200 million birr.
Representatives of Marriott International are scheduled to come to Addis Ababa next week to diseases the franchise agreement with Sunshine Construction PIC, according to Samuel.
Marriott International is a leading lodging company, according to information posted at its website. Its heritage can be traced to a root beer stand opened in Washington, D.C., in 1927 by J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott. Today, Marriott International has more than 3,200 lodging properties located in the United States and 66 other countries and territories.
Sunshine construction heats up
By Muluken Yewondwossen
Sunshine Real Estate, a partner of Sunshine Construction, will launch the construction of low cost apartments for middle income residents of the capital. The company officially inaugurated 210 Ground + One villas a week ago constructed at CMC area on Mere Luke site at the cost of 364 million birr.
Dangameyelw Girma, head of business development and public relations for Sunshine, told Capital that his company will construct 334 high level luxurious villas around CMC and that other luxury condos and middle income apartments will be built in new areas at Bole Beshale, Megenagna, Estifanos and CMC.
Until 2016 the real estate developer plans to construct about 5 billion birr worth of residential houses in different areas of the capital. According to the business development and public relations head, 14 middle class apartments will be constructed at CMC area at a cost of 1.2 billion birr. “The low cost apartments and villas will be erected on Bole Beshale site,” he added. Another 334 deluxe villas will be constructed on Mere Luke at Hill View project that worth about 2.2 billion birr.
The 26, Bole Beshale low cost apartments will be erected on 50,000 square meters at the cost of 220 million birr and the 89 villas will also be built on another 50,000 square meter area that will consume 140 million birr. The Bole Beshale project includes the construction of 75 middle class villas at the cost of 180 million birr on the area of 50,000 square meters.
The other new project is the Megenagna ten deluxe apartments that have 10 floors. The Megenagna project will be built on about 14,000 square meters at a cost of 500 million birr. Sunshine also plans to construct ten fifteen floor apartments around Estifanos area at cost of 750 million birr.
Two years ago the company transferred 151 villas from the houses built in CMC to buyers. last week they trasfered 59 villas, and rented a supermarket, gymnasium, swimming pool, clinic, and a football field.
The developer has spent about 36 million birr for the compound’s additional facilities.
Samuel Taffese, head and owner of Sunshine Construction said that his company constructed seven additional rooms to be used as offices for the compound residents association.
The company has also constructed and transferred over 711 luxury condo houses around Gerji, the project also has 27 shops and 15 luxury villas, and another 11 apartment buildings have erected on CMC areas.
In addition to residential home, Sunshine has also focused on road and hotel construction where it has registered strong performances. It inaugurated three asphalt road projects during the previous fiscal year for the Ethiopian Roads Authority.
Currently, several real estate developers are registered in Addis Ababa. Still, many have failed to meet their deadlines for transferring homes to customers.
Meanwhile the government has launched the construction of low cost houses all over the country and transferred tens of thousands condominium houses in six years. The capital’s housing demand continues to grow as demand outpaces supply.