The Addis Ababa Environmental Protection Authority has officially issued a comprehensive new regulation, Directive No. 191/2018, to strictly oversee the exploration, production, and distribution of construction minerals within the capital. This new legal framework aims to eliminate long-standing operational loopholes while establishing a highly transparent and accountable management system for the city’s expanding urban mining sector.
Under the directive, specific permits will now be categorized and granted for commercial production, government infrastructure projects, mineral lifting, and machinery installation. The regulation explicitly covers essential building materials, including basalt, gravel, red sand, river sand, and dressed white stone. While basalt extraction licenses are valid for up to five years, permits for sand, gravel, and white stone are limited to two years, with all licenses subject to mandatory annual renewals.
The framework clearly differentiates between private and commercial resource utilization, allowing legal landholders to extract minerals for non-commercial personal construction on their property without fees or permits. Conversely, enterprises aiming for commercial supply must formally organize into partnerships or cooperatives to secure operational licenses. Furthermore, private contractors executing public projects can mine resources using institutional support letters, though they remain obligated to pay standard royalty fees.
To ensure environmental safety, the authority has established strict buffer zones that explicitly prohibit mining within a 500-meter radius of residential areas and industrial parks. Excavation is also strictly banned within 25 meters of high-voltage power lines and 30 meters of riverbanks, alongside total prohibitions near infrastructure, religious institutions, and burial sites. To secure a license, applicants must submit Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and deposit financial guarantees into a designated bank account for potential land rehabilitation.
Finally, operators are mandated to submit quarterly performance and monthly revenue reports to the authority, with site expansions permitted only after a developer successfully utilizes at least 70 percent of their existing plot. Sub-city environmental offices have been granted full enforcement powers to monitor compliance and curb illegal mining activities. The directive concludes that any failure to meet obligations, repeated illegal operations, or total resource depletion will result in immediate permit revocation.
#AddisAbaba #MiningRegulation #UrbanDevelopment #EnvironmentalProtection #EthiopiaNews