| Home | Politics | Human Rights | Water | Economy | Education | Sci & Tech | Culture | Sport |
21 August, 2007
The management of Sheraton Addis is in a hiring spree, eyeing a Millennium bonanza it will organise inside Ethiopia's largest concert hall under construction on Africa Avenue (Bole Road) at a project cost of 10 million dollars.
The service during the parties will be provided by the Sheraton Addis, which is now in the process of recruiting between a 1,500 to 2,000 crew on a six-month contractual basis. The recruits would go through a 10-day training to be organised by a team of professionals from the Sheraton, according to Daniel Mezgebu, director of human resources at the Sheraton.
Sources at the Sheraton disclosed to Fortune that there will be three major events during the coming Ethiopian millennial year: on the eve of the New Year, at the end of fasting season for the Muslim community during the last week of October 2007, and on December 31, 2007. Although the thousands of crew hired by the Sheraton are meant to work only during these occasions, they will be paid a six-month salary.
Luigi Varnero Impresa Costruzioni Plc, aka Vernero, a local construction company hired to undertake the construction work, is progressing with an astonishing speed, in a bid to host the first of the concerts on the eve of Ethiopia's Millennium year on September 11. Lying on a 90,000sqm plot facing London Café, the concert hall will have a capacity to accommodate 20,000 spectators. It is owned by Addis Park Management & Development Service Plc (APDM), a subsidiary of MIDROC Ethiopia.
To a casual visitor, it is clear that the concert hall has yet to be fully furnished. Abinet Gebremeskel, coordinator of the project and a close confident of Sheik Mohamed Ali Al-Amoudi, who owns both the hotel and the concert hall, says that it would be completed before the Millennium comes.
"We will finish the remaining work in 16 days, working 16 hours a day if necessary," he told Fortune.
This state-of-the-art concert hall, which is being constructed with over 600 local and foreign workers, will have a life of only six months, according to Abinet. The plot of land in which the concert hall is being erected was originally designated for another project envisioned by APDM. Two years ago, the company leased the plot for 99 years from the Land Administration Bureau of Bole District, to build a hotel, which also incorporates a convention centre.
Although speculations were rife in the capital on the names of internationally acclaimed performers from the United States (US), no confirmation has been obtained by Fortune whether a deal has been made yet with anyone.
It is, however, the first time for a hospitality establishment to hire this number of people at a time. Close to 2,000 applicants were short-listed based on their language command, personality, medical health and criminal records, according to Daniel. The police department had to temporarily reallocate its staff that run checks on fingerprints to the Sheraton premises due to the huge number of applicants to be checked on, sources disclosed.
The medical check-up was conducted by SelaM Health Care Plc, a subsidiary of MIDROC Ethiopia. Amare Abebe, a medical doctor at SelaM, told Fortune that they have checked the health conditions - TB, skin problems and hepatitis - of the recruits.
Daniel disclosed that contractual agreements will be signed between the finalists and the Sheraton within a week, beginning August 18. Currently, only 900 recruits have been called by the hotel to sign the agreement.
Gebeyehu Guluma, one of the recruits, told Fortune that the rest of them have been informed to wait until their names are listed on the notice board at the gate of Sheraton.
Though a huge number of people have flocked to the Sheraton, deserting many of the other establishments in the capital, Tsegaye Asfaw, president of Ethiopian Hotels and Restaurants Association and general manager of Imperial Hotel, believes it is for the better of the industry.
"As these trained workers are hired on a contractual basis, it is the industry which will get a lasting benefit at the end of the day," he told Fortune.
As opposed to the previous years, the usual musical extravaganza and celebration will not take place at the premises of the Sheraton in the coming New Year as the service department of the Sheraton would be serving food and beverages at the concert hall, Abinet told Fortune.
By DAWIT ABEBE - FORTUNE STAFF WRITER