Infrastructure

Foreign Ministry Turns to Banks to Restore Landmark HQ

AI SUMMARY

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked commercial banks for 500 million Birr to renovate its half-century-old headquarters using domestic funding.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked commercial banks to contribute 500 million Birr to renovate its headquarters on Menelik II Avenue.
Minister Gedion Timotheos stated the renovation is necessary because the building is aged and no longer reflects Ethiopia's current standing.
The Ministry chose domestic funding over foreign assistance to prevent potential external influence and maintain policy independence.
The Foreign Ministry is allotted 0.17 percent of the federal capital budget, while the renovation is expected to cost a couple of billion Birr.
The Ethiopian Bankers Association proposed that the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia cover half of the bank contribution, with the remaining 26 member banks sharing the rest.
Bank contributions are calculated based on profitability, with EBA members recording over 115 billion Birr in net profit and CBE accounting for 69.32 percent of that total.
An anonymous private bank CEO noted that frequent, non-tax-deductible government contribution requests are becoming difficult for banks to manage.
Non-EBA members including Hijra, Rammis, Shabelle, and Omo banks were initially excluded from the plan, though Hijra was later approached.
Architects Marshet Mengistu and Dawit Benti warned against rushing the restoration and urged that conservation specialists lead the project to preserve the building's historic character.