The Addis Ababa City Transport Bureau revealed its plans to expand the Bus Rapid Transit Lane (BRT) corridor projects to different parts of the city, with construction of a new bus terminal set to commence in the capital this fiscal year.
Aregawi Maru, Communications head of the Bureau, told The Reporter that attaining at least 50 percent completion of the B-2 BRT project corridor is among the bureau’s priorities in this fiscal year.
The B-2 BRT project corridor is under construction currently, stretching from Jemo through Torhailoch to the General Winget area.
The project was launched at a cost of 5.9 billion birr in June 2020, and has a length of 19.2 km.
In addition to working on the completion of the already existing project, the Bureau also plans to introduce a new one, named B-6 corridor, which stretches from Torhailoch to Bole Airport.
The tender process for this project is almost finalized and the design work will start this fiscal year. Financial support for the project is expected to come from the Korean Exim Bank.
Furthermore, the Bureau is undertaking different consultations with stakeholders and a feasibility study is also underway for the B-5 corridor project, which covers areas from Torhailoch to Megenagna.
Apart from constructing and plans to construct BRT corridors, the Bureau has revealed it plans to build a Bus Depot. Following the progress of such infrastructures, a mega public transport terminal will be constructed at the Megenagna area this fiscal year, in addition to the design revision works of Yeka Bus Depot, a.k.a. Anbessa Garage.
Aregawi also said that the Bureau has finalized the construction of three bus depots and terminals recently in Shegole, Kality and Mercato.
The planned Megenagna terminal will be an eight storey building, with two basements and six floors dedicated to multipurpose services.
The city administration is expected to cover the finance for the multipurpose terminal, which can host 200 vehicles at a time, while the construction of different facilities will serve income generating purposes.
