A sod has been cut for a 100-bed hospital project near the CSIR-Animal Research Institute at Fafraha in the Greater Accra Region, scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2024. The project is being undertaken by four contractors; DBS Industries Limited, BKT Construction Ltd, BHAK Company Ltd, and Community and Social Investment Ltd. Mr Foster Osae-Akonnor, the Project Manager, said all outstanding issues in connection with the land have been duly resolved in the pre-construction meeting. He said this had paved the way for the start of work from November 1, 2023 as agreed by stakeholders to be completed exactly a year after. Mr Osae-Akonnor said of the eight zones of the Agenda 111 project, zone three was part of the Eastern Region and part of Greater Accra Region, and that Greater Accra Region had suffered the most because of land litigation matters. He stated that his outfit would ensure that the quality of work was not compromised to ensure value for money. Mr Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, said due process was followed in the acquisition of the land and decried encroachment on government lands by persons, who later turned round to accuse government of being insensitive when the whip was cracked. 'Large parcels of the CSIR land have been encroached with most of the structures have being built without permit,' he stated. Mr Quartey charged the contractors to use local artisans for the project and cautioned prospective artisans to desist from pilfering the building materials to avoid being prosecuted. The Regional Minister urged all residents, beneficiaries and stakeholders in the area to support the project to ensure its successful completion as scheduled. He commended the media for being instrumental in the campaign to ensure sanity and discipline in the region. Mr Daniel Alexander Nii-Noi Adumuah, the Municipal Chief Executive, said accessible, equitable and quality healthcare was a foremost priority for government. He pointed out that there were 54 health facilities including four private ones and one polyclinic in the Adentan Municipality, but none had the capacity of a hospital. He said it was government's intent to deepen universal access to healthcare to achieve goal three of the Sustainable Development Goals, hence the Agenda 111 hospital projects. At the initial stage, securing the 12-acre parcel of land for the project proved difficult, he said, and expressed gratitude to the Regional Minister for his intervention to acquire the current site for the project. Mr Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, the Member of Parliament for Adentan, gave the assurance that he would lobby for support to facilitate the successful and timely completion to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Source: Ghana News Agency