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Model registration procedures are sent from the Ministry’s Diaspora
Directorate to all the regions, which the regions adopt based on their
region’s area, land lease price, standards of urban areas where
construction will take palce and construction cost, explained Fiesel.
Almost all regional states have completed their directives, except
Harari, Benishangul Gumuz and Afar, said Fiesel.
In Addis Abeba
only, apartment houses are planned to be built, according to Addis
Abeba’s Diaspora Housing Development Directive. The apartments can be a
G+4 or above but if the construction is taking place in the central zone
of the city only a G+12 and above apartment building are allowed,
according to Tesfa Bisrat, head of Diaspora Coordinating Desk with the
rank of assistant advisor to the mayor. The apartments will be built in
group that contains either 12 or 24 members and 50sqm of land is
allocated for each member for the house, stated Tesfa.
The Tigray
regional state completed and approved its diaspora housing directives in
June 2014, according to Atakilt Gebreyhiwot, Tigray Urban Development,
Trade and Industry Bureau director. We have outlined an initial
directive on how to proceed with the housing program but the directives
can be improvised based on the interests of the house buyers as well as
important guidelines we would like to include in the directive, stated
Atakilt.
Tigray has planned to include apartment housing with two
floors or above in all parts of the region, he said. The houses can be
two, three or four bedrooms houses, according to the directives. The
two-bedrooms house will rest on 60sqm-80sqm with the price tag of
424,390Br. The three-bedroom house will cost 573,500Br and rests on
80sqm-100sqm. The four-bedroom house will rest on 100sqm-136sqm with the
cost of 779,960Br.
Another region, which has already completed
its diaspora housing directives, is the Oromia region. The region has
included in its directives an apartment as well as town housing program,
according to Bayissa Hirko, Oromia Industry and Urban Development
Bureau, senior expert of housing transfer and administration. The
apartment will be G+4 or above, having two, three or four bedroom
houses, he added. The two-bedroom house will rest on 80sqm land and
costs 400,000Br, where as the three-bedroom will cost 550,000Br and
rests on 100sqm land; the four bedrooms will be built on 110sqm land and
will cost 700,000Br. The town houses will have a G+1 and G+2 format and
will be built on 120sqm and will cost 500,000Br and 800,000Br
respectively, explained Bayissa.
The Southern Nations,
Nationalities & Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) has categorized its urban
areas in different levels, with Hawassa as a leading city. The rest are
categorized as high-level, mid-level, town and developing towns,
according to Aschalew Kassaye, SNNPR Industry and Urban Development
Bureau, housing development and administration. The distinction was made
based on population number, area, economy and service provision of the
towns, explained Aschalew.
An apartment and a town house are to be
built in the region, according to the directive. Only G+4 and above
apartment houses will be built in Hawassa with two, three or four
bedrooms which rest on 50sqm, 65sqm, and 80sqm respectively while a G+3
apartment will be built in high-level towns. The apartment houses can be
two, three and four bedrooms, which will rest on 55sqm, 70sqm and 85sqm
of land, respectively. Only G+1 and G+2 town houses can be built in
mid-level towns that have two, three or four bedrooms and built on
60sqm, 75sqm, and 90sqm, accordingly. For the developing towns only the
construction of a single storey town house construction is allowed,
stated Aschalew. It will have two, three or four bedrooms, which rest on
65sqm, 80sqm and 90sqm of land respectively. But cost decisions will
not be finalized until January 9, 2015, he added.
Dire Dewa has
only planned the construction of G+2 and G+3 town houses, according to
Sebsibe Mekonnen, the city’s diaspora affairs coordinator. The houses
will have two, three and four bedrooms, which rest on 128sqm, 160sqmand
200sqm, respectively, with 582,400Br, 728,000Br, and 910,000Br cost.
The
payment will be made in hard currency, 50pc upon registration and the
rest when construction begins, according to Feisel. An Ethiopian
diaspora who has never owned a house by his name or through his
relatives can register for the program. It is possible to register
collectively forming 12-24 members, stated Fiesel. The home buyers can
come up with their own design but as for hiring a contractor of their
choice, some regions directive compel them to hire only government
contractor.
The directives are a work-in-progress, which could be
modified based on the discussion, stated Sebsibe. We are trying to come
up with standardized and similar directives and most of the directives
reflect this, stated Fiesel. The directives, which are collected from
the regional diaspora offices, have been distributed to Ethiopian
embassies. When all the regions complete the preparation, then we can
proceed to the registration phase as we are now completing the work plan
schedule, added Feisel.
