25,491 Condo Houses Transferred to Addis Residents in Lottery Draw

ADDIS ABABA – The City administration of Addis Ababa on Friday transferred 25,491 condominium houses built under the 20/80 and 40/60 housing schemes via a lottery draw.

A total of 79,794 residents registered in the two schemes participated in the draw at the Addis Ababa municipality hall. Top officials of the city administration attended the drawing event.

About 27,195 people registered in 2005 and saved up the 20% down payment until February 28, 2022, have also been involved in the In 14th round lottery drawing for the “20/80” scheme.

The city administration said at least 52,599 registered residents who saved up at least 40% of payment until February 28, 2022, were also included in the draw for the 40/60 house units.

The draw also gave a 5% chance to people with disabilities, a 20% to public servants, and a 30% for women as per the 3/2011 directive of the administration.

Mayor of Addis Ababa Adanech Abiebie congratulated the beneficiaries that had to wait for so long to get a house while saving money.

The administration said it employed a new system to carry out the lottery draw without any discrimination to transfer a total of 25,491 whose construction, including various infrastructures built at the sites, cost more than 21.5 billion Birr.

A neutral body can audit the process if there is a complaint after the conclusion of the draw, the mayor said.

The price of the condos built under the 20/80 housing scheme is set at 7,997.17 Birr per square meter while the condo units under the 40/60 plan are 11,162.97 per square meter.

These rates are much lower than the prices to acquire similar units built by private developers in the city, the mayor said.

From the 40/60 housing development program, 1,870 one-bedroom, 4,220 two-bedroom, and 753 three-bedroom flats were transferred via the latest draw. Officials put their completion level at 87%.  

About 3,318 studios, 7,171 one-bedroom, and 8,159 two-bedroom flats were transferred from the 20/80 scheme. Their construction is at least 96% complete, officials say.

– Confusion over 3 bedroom Flats –

Three-bedroom units from the 20/80 housing development program were not a part of Saturday’s lottery draw. This has created confusion among registered residents, although the administration briefly stated that it would hold another program to transfer the houses to eligible people in the near future.

On Sunday, the Mayor’s Office issued a statement to clarify why the 14th round lottery draw for the “20/80” scheme did not include the three-bedroom flats. 

Stating the latest 20/80 draw involved only those enrolled in 1997E.C., the statement said the board that manages the 20/80 houses decided not to include the three-bedroom units in the lottery system.

This is because the three-bedroom program for people registered that year was shut down with the understanding that the 12th-round lottery draw for the 20/80 scheme had already addressed all eligible individuals.  

However, the administration was informed by the bank about the existence of some individuals registered1997E.C., who saved the minimum down payment for the three-bedroom program before Saturday’s draw, according to the office. 

Noting that reopening the lottery system to include their date hastily could cause disruption, it said the administration decided to address the cases of eligible individuals in another program soon. Further information regarding the program would be made public soon, it added.

[Editors note: Additional information regarding the latest explanation from the city administration about the three-bedroom under the 20/80 scheme is included in the story on Sunday]