condominium housing in ethiopia - International Union of Tenants

skim concrete or compacted earth floor. Larger multistoreycommercial and residential buildings in urbanareas are composed of reinforced concrete frame and slabconstruction with hollow brick or fired brick infill walls.There is a pressing need for more cost efficient alternativematerials, as the current cost of construction materialsis a high proportion of total construction cost, typicallyaround 70 per cent 52 .Figure 9: ‘Chikka’: the traditional construction material forresidential construction. © UN-HABITATThe construction industry comprises four mainsectors: building and residential development sector(construction companies), civil engineering sector,professional services, and informal self-building sector 53 .Construction companies are classified according tosize, expertise, and financial capability. They must beregistered with the MWUD and licensed to undertakeconstruction work. There is little specialisation incontractors work, with contractors taking on all aspectsof a building project (rather than specific tasks such asfoundations, structure, roofing, etc) 54 .The professional services sector comprises mostlyarchitects, engineers (mechanical, sanitary) and quantitysurveyors. Logically, the informal self-building sector isnot registered but supplies materials and labour at a verylarge scale, employing a large number of people. There islittle cross-collaboration between the professional sectorand informal sector.Figure 10: Construction methods in Ethiopia are labourintensive. © UN-HABITATThe national Ethiopian Building Code, EthiopianBuilding Proclamation 624/2009 is a legal documentthat outlines the building regulations and requirements,for use by local authorities to ensure building standardsare maintained in their jurisdiction. Parts of Ethiopiaare located in an earthquake zone and a code exists toensure buildings resist maximum predicted earthquakeloads. The codes are only used and enforced in buildingsdeveloped in the formal sector.The construction sector is undergoing several changes.The government’s plan for the budget year of 2008/09was to enhance “the capacity of the construction industryby making it capable and competitive, enhancing itscontribution to the country’s economy, enabling it tomeet the demand for housing construction, and enablingit to create ample employment opportunities” 55 . It aimedto achieve this by improving construction industrypolicy; developing a construction industry capacitybuilding programme; and ratifying and implementingthe national building proclamation 56 .Figure 11: Multi-storey buildings in Addis Ababa are typicallyconstructed from cast in-situ reinforced concrete frame withbrick infill walls. © UN-HABITAT8INTRODUCTION TO ETHIOPIA