Inside Ethiopia’s Tallest Building in Addis Ababa

The topping out of the 198-metre Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) Tower in Addis Ababa has gifted Ethiopia its newest tallest building – ending the reign of the AU Conference Center and Office Complex.

The 46-storey CBE Tower, which is under construction near the Ethiopia Hotel off Ras Desta Damtew Street, is a 150,000-sq-m skyscraper that will serve as the headquarters of the state-owned bank.

In early 2015, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia signed a deal with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) for the construction of the building for $267 million (about Sh28 billion).

The deal was signed after the state-owned bank finally obtained approval from the Office of the Prime Minister to embark on the project, six years after the lender submitted plans to build the headquarters.

The CBE Tower, which was designed by Henn Architekten, a German firm, was scheduled to get underway in 2011 but that never happened because the bank did not obtain approval from the State.

Construction finally got underway in March 2015, topping out in the second half of 2019, but cladding work has been delayed due to a foreign currently shortage in Ethiopia.

On completion, CBE Tower will be the tallest building in Ethiopia – comprising a 198-metre tower and two 5-storey podiums. It will feature prominently in the list of tallest buildings in Africa.

Speaking during the signing of the deal in Addis Ababa, then CBE President Bekalu Zeleke said the bank and the Chinese company were committed to building one of the best structures in the continent.

“We believe this will be one of the best buildings in Africa,” he said.

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