Addis Ababa wins global award for sustainable urban development
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Fanamc
Addis Ababa received the 2026 Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities, a distinction Ethiopia’s Prime Minister’s Office presents as a lever for extending sustainable urban projects across the country. It cites Harar, Bahir Dar, Hawassa, Jimma, Arba Minch and Dire Dawa as potential models, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Addis Ababa received the Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities 2026, a global prize recognising sustainable urban development. Ethiopia’s Office of the Prime Minister presents the distinction as a starting point for extending urban transformation ambitions across the country, in a message published on 31 October.
The Prime Minister’s Office highlighted the creation of quality public spaces, the modernisation of cities and the preservation of their history, heritage and identity. It called for cities to be designed as inclusive and sustainable places suited to their residents’ living and working conditions.
Harar, Bahir Dar, Hawassa, Jimma, Arba Minch and Dire Dawa were cited as cities that could become models of sustainable urban development. The government therefore wants to extend Addis Ababa’s transformation beyond the capital, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The distinction comes two days after the announcement of the redevelopment of Addis Ababa’s riverbanks and public spaces, on 28 October. It is part of a period in which the Ethiopian government is seeking to modernise its cities while preserving their individual identities.
