 Almaz Kefale, a resident of Kolfe area and house
wife.
"..I have been observing the construction of the Ring Road since its inception up to where it is now. I am pleased that this road is giving a wide range of service to the public and that it has added a beauty to Addis. However, before its construction, it was very easy for people to cross from one side of the road to another, but not without using the pedestrian bridges or some of the squares (traffic circles), it is impossible to cross the ring road. It is particularly a very serious problem for the disabled, aged men and women, those who are sick, etc. In addition all garbage containers are located near bridges which made it very inaccessible for the public to use.." |
Much has now been written about the two major constructions in the city - the Ring Road and the New Bole Terminal. This time, we thought it was the average citizens turn to express their opinion. It is a "love-and-hate" relationship that we saw with the Ring Road. As for the terminal, almost everyone seems to like it. Here are some voices from Addis Ababa.
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 Wossen A. from Arada. "..I have never traveled by Air but when I heard that there is such good development called 'new terminal' I was really glad. I thought such developments will in any way bring about progresses what so ever for people of Ethiopia. I would like to see more developments in various other infrastructure areas." |
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 Tamrat,
a third-year student at Addis Ababa University from Kazanchis.
"..I think it is a good
development to have such an extraordinary airport terminal in Addis. For
Ethiopia Airlines, it is both an opportunity and a challenge. An
opportunity in that it will help it expand by
acquiring new aircrafts, developing new services like the plan to
introduce an Internet-based flight booking and reservation. It might be
a challenge if it can't do those mentioned above because the new terminal will attract more Airlines to fly in and take away EA's
business. I think it might be good to learn from the failure of Air
Afrique and other African Airlines. This expansion on the other hand
will create more opportunities - business opportunities, employment,
increasing profile of Addis to act as a regional capital.."
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Tadelle G/Selassie, a 32 years old taxi driver from Gofa Sefer. "..The construction of this road is saving us time and fuel. For example, for a traveler to arrive at the airport on time, the ring road is giving short access to reach there in short period of time. But the fact that the road isn't completed on time has created a problem in our business, we can't park on the side of the roads which we could easily meet with our customers. This is the result of the contractors not being able to arrange alternative roads properly. This is affecting our business.." |
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Ayalew, a real estate (house) broker and resident of Woreda 20. "..The ring road serves enormous number of automobiles and trucks which is reducing the traffic crowd in the center. I have only seen such roads in movies in other developed countries, it is really a very good development example for our country's participation in such technological developments. However, I am concerned about the fact that the road has not been completed according to the time table in the original contract which might show the inefficiency on the part of the contractors and employees."
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