New convention centre in Addis Ababa

12 Jun, 2017

Chinese firm to build convention centre in Ethiopian capital.

Ethiopian president Mulatu Teshome has laid the foundation stone of a $130-million convention and exhibition centre being built by China's CGCOC construction group.

The complex, to be known as the Addis-Africa International Convention and Exhibition Center (AAICEC), will be located on an 11-hectare site in the eastern CMC suburb, a residential compound popular with expatriates and named after the Italian construction company that built it in the early 1990s.

The "world-class" centre will include a conference hall, exhibition centres, a five-star hotel, restaurants and business hubs, and would contribute to the development of Ethiopia's tourism and business sectors according to the nation's president.

The project is being constructed in three phases, starting with the convention centre, and is expected to be completed within three years.