The construction sector in Ethiopia has a history spanning three thousand years; the Temple of Yeha, the Axum Monument, the Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches, the Harar Jegol Tower, the Gondar Churches, and the Jimma Abajfar Palace are all part of this history. Every chapter of Ethiopia’s remarkable history is associated with remarkable construction, Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh said.
While announcing the launching of Construction Industry Transformation Initiative (CITI) that was prepared by Ministry of Urban and Infrastructure (MUI) recently, the Deputy Prime Minister said that every time the land of Ethiopia is excavated, it has witnessed the level of its construction skills. What is surprising, however, is that its current construction process is at odds with its history. Ensuring quality, completing on time, being accessible to the public, and carrying out constructions easily should not have been a problem.
“The way we are currently doing our construction, project delays, and the inability to provide housing to our people, seems against the track record we registered before. It is time to ask where all that hard work, effort, knowledge, and wisdom went. Our government is now struggling to repair this brokenness in the construction sector,” he said.
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As a result, two approaches are identified. The first is to start construction with complete preparation. Instead of scattering foundation stones everywhere, it is introducing a culture of starting work right away, focusing only on projects that can be done. The government’s project monitoring capacity has increased; it has become customary to work 24 hours a day; it has become a discipline to allocate the appropriate budget to only the appropriate project. As a result, starting construction right away has become government’s hallmark. The Renaissance Dam can be mentioned as a living witness in this regard.
The second is to complete on time. Winding up construction projects as per the timetable has been rare in this country. Now this bad habit is changing; if possible, finish ahead of schedule, if not, on time, has become the characteristic of government. Undoubtedly, the private sector is inheriting this characteristic.
Much effort is being made in the construction industry; but the industry has not yet grown to the expected level. It is beset by complex problems. However, if the government and industry players work together, it is believed to be a promising sector that transforms the country.
“In this regard, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the Federal Government and myself for the work of MUI, in accordance with the direction given by the government, to assess the overall situation of the industry; to review the previous approaches; to meaningfully engage industry players; and to prepare the CITI in a short time and to bring us together in this way today.”
The initiative clearly identifies the challenges; it provides an opportunity for all actors to play their part in the right direction. It has a vision for the industry to play a significant role not only domestically but also at the continental and international levels. It opens the door for not only professionals but also companies to make their mark beyond the country, Temesgen said.
The growth of the sector indicates that there will be cooperation between the public and private sectors. From now on, a system will be established where not only contractors and consultants, but also employers will be evaluated annually; they will be given a rating; they will be held accountable if there is a performance deficiency; all stakeholders will be given due recognition for their industrial performance success, he stressed.
Ethiopia still has a lot of work ahead of it; there are many constructions; it needs many developers and consultants; it is looking for many architects. The Ministry of Urban and Infrastructure is also strengthening its activities in this regard. As a result, it is believed that the construction industry will be a place where all actors can be proud of their work and achievements.
The Construction Industry Transformation Initiative already unveiled, and will cover the 25-year period from 2025 to 2050, is expected to play a crucial role in realizing Ethiopia’s dream. It’s dream is to prosper and build a country that will be a model of strength and prosperity for Africa and the world.
The constructions undertaken are not just for income generation, job creation, or planning purposes. Like Yeha and Aksum, Lalibela and Jegol, Gondar and Jimma Abajfar, they should be a demonstration of the country’s civilization. They should be something that future generations will be proud of, symbols of the country, timeless, heralding the revival of Ethiopia, and speaking of its prosperity. It is hoped that this initiative will change the concept of construction and ensure Ethiopia’s construction progress, he noted.
No longer will the government or the private sector allow constructions that are left at the foundation level; that are left unfinished everywhere; that are causing people to suffer due to low quality; and that are being tainted by corruption to be seen in Ethiopia. This initiative will fix this if all partakers do their part.
The MUI is expected to work harder than ever to strengthen the growing sector through many activities and make the construction industry a source of pride for government, people, and even the players in the sector. With this understanding, this inclusive, consistent, standard-compliant, promising, and long-term CITI not only demonstrates an understanding of the expected mission, but also confirms its readiness to support and lead the sector.
The Deputy Prime Minister conveyed his message that the initiative should first and foremost be about bringing in the professionals needed to build the country; modernizing companies and organizations; and organizing the sector and industry. This is to remind all that it is expected to do so when it is able to update its skills, work culture, attitude, organization, and practices.
“Finally, if we cooperate, or in short, if we get synergized, I believe that we will succeed in implementing this Ethiopian Construction Industry Transformation Initiative.”
Chaltu Sani, Minister of MUI, on her part said that in the Ethiopia’s 10 year development plan, the construction industry aimed at increasing its participation and competency at national and continental level via building national capacity; producing majority of the inputs locally to substitute importation; and enabling it create vast job opportunity at the end of the set plan time.
In order to achieve this, establishing a convenient operating system, creating ethically well-groomed construction industry; building a construction industry competitive at the national and regional level is essential. To this end, efforts have been made to establish a streamlined operating system, create and build a construction industry with good ethics.
Local contractors and consultants, taking into account the extensive infrastructure and corridor developments in the country, have also noted that the construction results that have been widely launched in Addis Ababa are not limited to Addis Ababa alone. The sector is making a significant impact on about 70 Ethiopian cities, and that the construction industry is making a significant impact not only on the infrastructure being built in cities but also on the development of national infrastructure, she said.
“Ethiopia is making significant efforts to understand development direction in all sectors, and it is believed that this will continue to grow in both quantity and quality in the future. For this, the construction industry must be effective, grow, lead, and base in supporting its development.”
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As to her, a steering committee was established to guide the initiative by consulting and involving the public and private sectors, and six working groups consisting of more than 50 senior experts who will implement various legal frameworks.
This initiative will primarily address the challenges facing the construction industry and work to improve the ease of doing business in the construction sector.
The sector will use various technologies, including artificial intelligence, to modernize the process of human resource development, assessment, certification and deployment, thereby increasing productivity. It will also fundamentally change the way the industry is perceived in terms of mass blame and mass praise. Contractors, consultants or experts will be properly assessed and ranked based on the work they do and the results they achieve.
“Looking at the preparations made so far, as well as the enthusiasm and motivation in the construction industry, we see a great potential for the initiative to not only succeed but also transform the industry and move to the next phase; and to ensure this, we do not need to look to other worlds, but to domestic institutions that have a great responsibility. So I would like to emphasize that we should not just launch the initiative today, but also be involved and ready for its implementation.”
The minister on the occasion confirmed that the government and the Ministry that leads the sector are ready and committed to fulfilling their expected role. Similarly, she respectfully called on the stakeholders in the sector to step away from blaming others for their problems and to play their part with integrity, diligence, and cooperation.
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 29 AUGUST 2025
