Dire Dawa, November 12 (WIC) – The Dire Dawa Administration said preparations are nearing completion so as to colorfully celebrate the fourth Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Day due to be marked on December 8, 2009.

Briefing journalists here on Wednesday, Administration Information and Public Relations Bureau Head, Misrak Worku, said activities are well in progress so as to mark the day colorfully in Dire Dawa town at a national level. He said the bureau has established committees and arranged hotels that could accommodate the over 3,000 guests expected to take part at the event.

The construction of the wall started as an emergency response immediately after the flood in 2007 which claimed the lives of several people in the city.
 

The construction of the wall, whose total length across the city's threatened parts is to be about six kilometres, started the same year the devastating flood occurred, Biniyam Wubishet, general manager of the city's roads authority, said. The state-owned Transport Construction Design Enterprise (TCDE) offered consultancy services free of charge, and the construction began with the cooperation of the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) and the Dire Dawa Council.