Ambassador Comes back to life

By Alemayehu Seife Selassie

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - After years under government management, the Ambassador park was outsourced to a private owner, last year. And the winner of the five years’ lease to run the park was an electronics engineer, Dinberu Alemu.
After taking the park from the authorities, this person has put a lot of efforts on it. When the park re-launched a couple of weeks ago, it was a jaw dropping moment for many. In a city where the waiting in line for a park during the wedding season is hard, the amount of pressure the park will alleviate is obvious.

Dinberu Alemu is also responsible for the design and transformation of the park. “We have built a traditional restaurant, a café, a pool, souvenir and gift shop along the existing open air garden. And we are also working on a children’s playground on the right side of the park. There would be a merry- go- round and swings, and other fantasy rides. We are working on building Internet service and a mini library as well”, he explained on the future plans.
The construction of the park to its current stage has cost Dinberu over1.5 million birr.
And having its first concert last weekend featuring Abinet Agonafir, Michael Belayneh, Shewandagne Hailu and Henock Abebe, the park gathered 600 people.
One thing that a park does not have is a ceiling. And the rain has disrupted the show but the park manager states that there is still great opportunity for the park to provide concert and event services for the millennium and beyond.

The park has also started to attract the attentions of many at its current fresh stage. “If you come in the evenings, the restaurant and café are filled with people. And our main aim is to give affordable services. Of course now that it is winter it is cold. But the trees create a lovely atmosphere in the sunny season.”

When it was offered for a private owner, the criteria that were used for judging which one was the right candidate, was 40 percent on the highest money, and the other 60 percent was from the plans of the technical implementation. “When I won last year, we were given the park for five years renewable lease. For the first year we had to pay 20,000 Birr and every year a ten percent increase will be added on the previous year’s payment.”

Dinberu has spent years living abroad, but he states that it has been his dream to create a recreational facility in his hometown. And running into this opportunity was simply the break he was looking for. “I have leased out some of the services to other companies. Because there are some things I don’t know how to run. But the whole concept is something I have wanted.”

Taking over the 9,000 plus square meter plot of land with a major renovation plan was a big task and the young owner has nothing but his imagination to rely on. By profession Dinberu studied electronics engineering and having taken some designing courses in Kenya has helped him to design his park. Having lived in the US for years, working in California at San Manuel Casino and recreational center, has also given him an advantage of what to do with the new facility.

“The one thing I did not want to destroy in this park was the trees. Some of them are twenty years or older. So I did not want to destroy them,” he said.
Currently working with other promoters, the founder stated that there would definitely be programs that would take place in the park. “I want to thank the government for its measure to outsource the government park to private owners. This is a great thing.”
Dinberu said. “It is an opportunity, for the society to have a park. When a government is no longer able to maintain the parks, it is wise to offer it to private individuals who have the vision to renovate and maintain them.”

June 9, 2007