The loan, according to the agreement, is to be paid in three years' time, or else the bank will have the right to foreclose property which was provided as collateral.

“If Al-Amoudi fails to pay according to the agreement, the bank will foreclose the property that Midroc Construction has given as collateral,” an official of the bank said.

 A senior official of the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Reporter that Midroc Construction had furnished Sheraton Addis as collateral for the 174 million birr loan it had borrowed.

The official added that despite the bank’s repeated attempts to secure repayment of the loan, it had proved impossible to even get a reply to the letters that were sent to the company. Bank authorities are said to have refrained from pursuing the required legal measures.

The first installment of the payment – amounting to some 50 million birr - is expected to be paid in the coming few months.