Ethiopian Review

The Construction Contractors Association of Ethiopia (CCAE) said it wants an amendment to the Commercial Code on the issue of joint ventures in the sector.

Melaku Tadesse, general manager of CCAE, told Capital, the code does not specify clearly the rules relating to joint venture contracts.

Currently, there is no legal necessity for the joint venture arrangement to be disclosed to the client and there is no specific provisions codifying joint ventures in Ethiopia.

The code also states that the manager shall be fully responsible for the liability of the joint venture, but partners who are not managers shall meet liabilities to the extent fixed in the memorandum of association.

Joint venture implementation is valuable for contractors and clients because local builders often need assistance on large projects.

“We informed the Ministry of Work and Urban Development and the Ministry of Justice about the problem and asked them to add a law that helps contractors to work together on different projects,” Melaku said.

According to the general manager, they have information about the proposal and they are waiting for the declaration of the law.

Member contractors told Capital they are interested in sharing projects with other companies. According to some, the new law will allow them to jointly tackle projects too big for a single contractor.

In a related development, CCAE is preparing to organise the sixth Ethio-Con construction exhibition on the coming September for five days at Addis Ababa Exhibition Center in collaboration with Century Promotion.

Last Thursday, Demisew Abate, chairman of the association, said the last five exhibitions were held in November, but after the association made a survey they discovered November is the beginning time for construction works after the rainy season.

“But September is a good time for the sector and students to visit and participate in the exhibition,” the chairman said.

This specialist exhibition is the largest in the sector in the country. At the last five exhibitions, different local and international companies participated and introduced their new products.
CCAE has 310 members, which is 20 per cent of the licensed contractors in the country.

- By Muluken Yewondwossen | Capital Ethiopia