Addis Ababa is putting new rules around a core part of the construction supply chain, sand, gravel, stone, and other construction minerals that feed concrete masonry work, mortar and grout production, and stone installations.
The Addis Ababa City Administration Environmental Protection Authority issued Construction Minerals Licensing Directive No. 191/2026. The directive requires businesses and individuals to secure government approval before extracting, processing, distributing, or selling construction minerals in the capital. Materials listed under the directive include black stone, gravel, red sand, red soil, white masonry stone, and river sand.
Under the new framework, operators need licences before commercial production, mineral sales, supplying materials for government development projects, lifting previously produced materials, or installing mineral processing machinery. Applicants must submit ownership or land-use documents, feasibility studies, and approved environmental impact assessment reports. The directive also requires financial guarantees tied to environmental risks identified during assessment.
For mason contractors working in Addis Ababa, the biggest day-to-day takeaway is documentation and compliance at the source.
Confirm that aggregate, sand, and stone suppliers hold valid licences for the activity they are performing.
Require proper invoices, since the directive strengthens enforcement against unlicensed mining and mineral sales without official invoices.
Keep material sourcing records organized on projects, especially when work connects to government development jobs.
The directive also places tighter limits on where extraction can happen. Licences will not be issued for mining in areas reserved for cemeteries, religious sites, historical heritage locations, infrastructure corridors, protected areas, and national parks. It also bans extraction within set distances, including 500 metres of residential villages, industrial parks, and infrastructure utilities, plus 25 metres of electricity transmission lines and 30 metres of riverbanks.
Licence lengths vary by activity. Black stone mining licences can run up to five years with annual renewal. Licences for aggregate, sand, and white stone production run up to two years with yearly renewal. Product lifting licences last up to three months.
Read the full, original article from Birr Metrics here.