South African developer Property 2000 has won a $4.2-billion contract to build affordable houses in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
The project will involve the construction of 500 000 units and is part of the city’s efforts to mitigate a housing backlog that is being exacerbated by rapid urbanisation.
The houses are meant for low- and middle-income residents who will assume ownership under a 30-year low-interest repayment scheme.
“We are working with the private sector to build over one-million houses in the capital with the aim to tackle housing shortages in the city,” says mayor Adanech Abiebie.
She adds that the city administration’s target is to build 120 000 units each year.
With a population of over 100-million people, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country has and been experiencing rapid urbanisation, with the proportion of the urban population standing at 21.2% in 2019 and estimated to be growing at 4.9% a year.
This has resulted in a housing backlog of about 1.2-million units, a challenge that government is trying to address through a ten-year development masterplan aimed at building 4.4-million houses, 80% of them by the private sector.
“We will ensure we complete construction of the houses within a short time and transfer them,” says Property 2000 chairperson Napo Eddie Modise.
Established about three decades ago, Property 2000 has been actively involved in the Southern Africa real estate market, with projects in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.