Eucalyptus Scaffolding

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(Ruta writing) One cannot be in Addis Ababa for more than a day without commenting on how much construction is in progress. It is amazing from several angles - first and foremost is the rudimentary level of materials that they have to work with. There is a notable lack of heavy construction equipment nor of safety features. Scaffolding consists of eucalyptus trees tied together. There are a lot of eucalyptus logs everywhere and during the day, there’s lots of people milling about. There are no hard hats, no safety railings, few drills, electrical generators, etc. I have read that 70% of the construction is financed by diaspora, i.e. Ethiopians living abroad, with 50% from the U.S., however I'm not sure if that is truw for residential, commercial or both. At any rate, there are so many buildings being constructed that in the 3 months that we have been here, our path to work and school is changing because of new multi-story buildings sprouting up. We tell our kids that if they return to Addis Ababa in 5 years, they won't recognize the city.

Here are pictures that I took on my walk home from work today. On one block, I counted
13 high rises going up. Curiously, I did not see a lot of infrastructure being laid for these high rises - no sewer lines, extra electrical lines, planned road pavings - seemingly only 13 high rises along a dirt road.

From the other angle of why this is amazing is how nicely some of these buildings turn out. I have attached a picture of the view from my office window. On the left is a very nice shopping mall. Notice in the distance, you can see additional construction with the rickety eucalyptus scaffolding.

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