The first Drainage Master Plan for the capital city is being conducting by the Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA) for controlling flood in a coordinated manner.
Moges Tibebe, Director General of AACRA, said that the master plan project is awarded for Sering Ingegneria, an Italian company based in Palermo with its local partner Metaferia Consulting Engineers as a sub consultant.
“The main objective of the service is to prepare Storm Drainage Master Plan for the city of Addis Ababa to better manage drainage with the aim of protecting infrastructure, preventing economic losses and improving public health and the local environment,” the Director General told Capital.
“The service will include a complete master plan drainage study and preliminary design with the related cost estimates and drawings,” Moges said.
The Drainage Master Plan will serve to obtain design criteria for storm drainage design, to evaluate the existing storm drainage system for adequacy, as a basis for design of proposed structures to improve the storm drainage system of the city, and as a guide/reference to evaluate proposed drainage systems for new developments.
The city has significant elevation difference from Entoto to Akaki that makes massive areas in the city vulnerable to flood, according to Moges.
“Besides that there are other reasons like poor solid waste management of dwellers and destruction occurred when other infrastructures are being developed,” he added.
“Previously we have designed every drainages at the road networks separately that would be consolidated together for sustainable and proper treatment,” he explained the benefit of the master plan, which is the first by its nature.
The master plan design undertaken with the cost of 36 million birr, is supported by the World Bank and is expected to be concluded in the budget year.
“The design will critically show the way forward and indicate what and when how to do in the sector,” Moges says adding “we believe that the master plan will contribute for radical shift on the city’s drainage development.”
The Drainage Master Plan would also consider the City Master Plan.
From time to time flood has become a challenge for some part of the city like Akaki and Nifas Silk Lafto.
“Meanwhile the master plan is done; in parallel we are improving and cleaning the existing drainage systems at the road network on preventive maintenance scheme,” he says. “Under the operation 130 locations are identified and over 80 have already prevented,” he added.
Soil management and stone walled terraces development at the outskirt of the city will be done to reduce siltation and flooding. The deforestation at the hills in the northern part of the city is stated as the reason for the growing of flood disaster in the city. AACRA highly encouraged the green legacy and reforestation at the outskirt of the city to cut challenges.
Meanwhile Sering Ingegneria, established in 1981 is new for Ethiopia, it achieved several projects in different countries including in several countries across Africa.
Metaferia Consulting Engineers established in 1990 is one of the leading consulting firms in Ethiopia and is involved in the fields of water supply and sanitation, water resources management and irrigation, environmental management, agriculture and rural development, roads, railways and bridges, buildings; study design and construction supervision and capacity building.