The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. Nine of the member states formed a free trade area in 2000 (Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe), with Rwanda and Burundi joining the FTA in 2004, the Comoros and Libya in 2006, Seychelles in 2009, Uganda in 2012[4] and Tunisia in 2018. COMESA is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.
Based in Lusaka, Zambia, the Secretariat is the executive Organ of COMESA. It ensures that the regulations and directives adopted by the Council of Ministers are properly implemented, and provides the Council of Ministers with strategic recommendations. It is comprised of the Executive Management- Office of the Secretary General, Assistant Secretaries General for Programs, Finance and Administration, and the Management Team. The secretariat is currently housed at COMESA Center in the heart of Lusaka Central Business District.
COMESA was allocated a piece of land by the Republic of Zambia situated at farm 4169 Airport Road in Chongwe District measuring approximately 14 Hectares. COMESA intends to develop the described piece of land by building its new office Headquarters complex, hotel, conference center and some retail facilities to cater for the organization’s current and future needs whilst responding to market trends in the area surrounding the property.
It is from this background that the EIA is being conducted in line with regulatory requirements and internal organizational sustainability principles. The COMESA Head Office project aims to align with international green building best practices and intends to pursue LEED certification. This will ensure a resource efficient, climate responsive and future ready development that meets high environmental and health standards. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the world’s most widely used green building rating system for sustainable design, construction, and operation. It awards points across categories like energy, water, and materials to certify buildings as Certified (40+ points), Silver (50+), Gold (60+), or Platinum (80+).