Sweeping municipal demolition directives target historic commercial hubs and residential neighborhoods across central Addis Ababa to make way for private real estate development
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Across central Addis Ababa, shopkeepers are closing up storefronts and families are packing belongings as city directives clear out some of the capital’s most historic neighborhoods for commercial redevelopment.
Residents across several central districts report receiving verbal notices to vacate their properties following land allocations to private developer Temer Real Estate. Under the verbal instructions issued by municipal representatives, families with independent financial means are expected to secure their own alternative housing immediately. Low-income tenants have been promised temporary shelter arrangements for up to one year, along with verbal assurances that new multi-story residential buildings will eventually be constructed on the cleared land to house displaced residents.
The clearing operations span an extensive area across administrative Kebeles 32, 33, 34, 42, 45, and 47. Heavy machinery has already leveled Kebeles 31 and 44, while demolition crews prepare to move into major commercial markets including Berbere Tera, Gojjam Berenda, American Gibi, Teklehaimanot, and Somali Tera.
The affected perimeter extends deep into residential pockets and commercial lanes across Gola Sefer, Shanta Sefer, Harar Pension, Tikur Anbessa, Amsistagna, Pension Sefer, Police Sefer, and nearby theater venues. Traders in Berbere Tera and Somali Tera—hubs that have anchored wholesale spice, grain, and dry-goods trade across the region for generations—say the sudden clearing directives threaten to dismantle long-standing commercial supply networks overnight.
The current clearing push marks the latest phase of the Addis Ababa City Administration’s broader “urban renewal and corridor development” program – a program that triggered displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents. City officials maintain that large-scale clearing is necessary to overhaul aging infrastructure, expand major roadways, and attract private real estate investment. However, urban planners and community leaders warn that rapid municipal re-zoning continues to fracture closely-knit economic ecosystems and displace vulnerable urban populations. There had been claims from the opposition quarters that the program is politically motivated.
The clearance of historic quarters such as Gojjam Berenda, American Gibi, and Teklehaimanot has also sparked alarm among cultural preservationists. Many of the designated buildings were constructed in the early to mid-twentieth century and represent key architectural chapters in the capital’s growth. Facing immediate displacement, local traders and residents are urging municipal authorities to replace verbal promises with legally binding written commitments regarding compensation terms, temporary housing quality, and guaranteed rights of return once construction concludes.
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