The name Addis Ababa means “New flower”, and the project is to befit this name. The project, therefore, aims at making the capital city a tourist destination and enhancing the well-being of city dwellers.
Beautifying Sheger project is a project initiated by H.E Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia to uplift the image of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, a seat of the African union as well as various international organizations, and its environs to make it fit for tourism and recreations.
This 29 billion Birr scheme, also known as the Sheger project has two parts. The first is the cleanup and beautification of Addis’ rivers sides, the other is transforming Entoto mountain. The project runs along the rivers of Addis Ababa, developing green spaces starting from Entoto to Akaki alongside the 56km river streams until they reach Akaki wastewater treatment plant.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially launched the construction of the project on October 1, 2019. The name Addis Ababa means “New flower”, and the project is to befit this name. The project, therefore, aims at making the capital city a tourist destination and enhancing the well-being of city dwellers by mitigating river flooding and through the creation of public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the riverside. At the official launch of the project, Prime Minister Abiy remarked that “the project is part of the comprehensive works that the government is undertaking to foster tourism and beautify the capital.”
For the completion of the projects, the Prime Minister held a fundraising dinner on 19 May 2019 dubbed “Dine for Sheger” at the National Palace. At the dinner, 300 business owners, company CEOs, international organizations, heads and members of the diplomatic community attended. The project required an estimated $1 billion, and the dinner raised $25 million.
Sheger park project renovates the city of 5 million people with clean waterways, flower belts, amphitheatres, Water Dance Light Fountains, open spaces and stops, bikeways, walkways along the riverside and transforming Addis Ababa into a greener, cleaner, resilient, and happier city.
The second part of the project is Entoto Park which comprises various indoor and outdoor facilities including a library, sports centres, entertainment, restaurants and coffee shops, an artificial lake and fountains walkways, bike, scooter, and cart routes.
Most of these facilities were constructed using local materials, s they blend in beautifully with the natural environment of the par
Some exciting activities in Entoto Natural Park include: Paintball arena, outdoor archery, a horse-riding ranch for both adults and children, and a large outdoor amphitheatre that will be used for concerts, theatres, and live music.
Other sights can be seen on foot in the natural environment of Entoto Natura Park include: views of Addis Abeba, Entoto Mariam Church and the historical museum, Menelik’s Palace, two Kedus Ragu and Kedus Elias Churches from different eras, the Washa Mika Church ruins, and runners training on the forest trails. The park is also a convenient place to birdwatchers with some 200 bi species registered in the mixed habitats of forest woodland, sloop cliffs and marshes.
In a short one-year period since the start of the construction, both Sheger and Entoto park are near completion; have created ma jobs and are changing the look and feel of the city. Beautifying Sheger projects, apart from evolving the look and feel of the city o Addis Ababa, will have a significant impact in contributing to t development of service economic sectors.
The successful completion of the two projects have encouraged and served as a benchmark for other projects to be replicated in other parts of the country that are the main sites for tourism Recently, building on experience and success of Sheger projects in Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has officially launch a “Dine for Nation” fundraising program to mobilise funds f three other projects in Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regions. The new project sites call Gorgora, Wonchi and Koyish, are the places in the country with beautiful natural sites and attractions. A committee establish to spearhead resource mobilisation started its work on August 1, 2020.
