View Full Version : TEWODROS SQUARE, Addis Ababa | NICE Insurance HQ | 140 million Birr | U/C


abesha
January 3rd, 2011, 04:57 PM
Sorry, no pics available. And not sure of height. I think it's G+12.


Nat’l Insurance to Start on 140m Br HQ This Week


http://addisfortune.com/icons/icons.gif National Insurance co gets construction permit after being denied three times since 2002

Geom Luigi Varnero Impressa Construction Plc has won the bid to construct the skeleton of the headquarters of National Insurance Company of Ethiopia (NICE) for 83.5 million Br on a 1,825sqm plot the company owns around Tewodros Square on Churchill Avenue.

NICE had floated a tender for the construction in October 2010. Along with Varnero, DMC, Midroc, AKIR, Tekleberhan Ambaye, Satcon, and Orchid construction fulfilled the technical requirements when the bids were opened towards the end of November.

The building was designed by Devecon, a Finnish firm doing consultancy work in the real estate and construction sectors. It had won the design competition that was floated in 1996 by NICE, which started operations in 1994. Devecon was awarded first place and 75,000 Br in prize money, as well as the design for two million Birr.

However, the detailed plan for the construction was done for 700,000 Br by Metaferia Consulting Engineers Plc, which has been working on road, bridge, and building designs since 2000.

When the insurance company applied for a construction permit in 2002, it was denied by the Addis Abeba City Administration as it was conducting a study for its local development plan (LDP) on the area. The second time the company applied for a construction licence, in 2005, the request was denied again because Metaferia Consulting did not have the category one licence required to design a ground plus 12 building at the time.

NICE had to float a second tender for a design, which Hailegebriel Consult and Architecture and Engineering Plc won. Yet, its application for a construction permit was denied for the third time because the city claimed that the company had taken the land and had not started construction. This prompted the company to sue the city administration.

In the midst of the law suit, Kuma Demeksa, city mayor, intervened to solve the controversy between the city and the company. The company was granted the construction permit in July 2009.

After many years of back and forth, Varnero is scheduled to start construction of the building this week.

The total construction costs are estimated to reach 140 million Br, according to Tewodros Bogale, general manager of NICE.

The new building is expected to have commercial space, luxury apartments, office space, and basement parking, according to the design.
http://addisfortune.com/Nat%E2%80%99l%20Insurance%20to%20Start%20on%20140m%20Br%20HQ%20This%20Week.htm

Simfan34
January 3rd, 2011, 05:13 PM
Sounds good to me, about time. Foreign architects? Even better.

dorzew
January 4th, 2011, 02:44 AM
It is nice to add one more tall building to the city. But I have a question;

Why the city administration mostly takes many years to grant the constraction permit for applicants?

AM2
January 4th, 2011, 07:02 PM
The article explains the reason:
"When the insurance company applied for a construction permit in 2002, it was denied by the Addis Abeba City Administration as it was conducting a study for its local development plan (LDP) on the area. The second time the company applied for a construction licence, in 2005, the request was denied again because Metaferia Consulting did not have the category one licence required to design a ground plus 12 building at the time."
It might also be that the company was not ready to go ahead with the construction at the time. If you have the financing and are ready to build, it usually doesn't take you 14years (since the competition was anounced) to get started, even by Addis' slower pace of things.