Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister for Works and Housing, has assured that the government is committed to completing the Saglemi Housing Project.
The Saglemi Housing Project, which commenced in 2012, has encountered significant setbacks primarily due to government concerns regarding the contract amount.
During an interview with the media on Wednesday, April 17, Oppong Nkrumah affirmed government’s preparedness to explore opportunities for partnering with potential investors to ensure the successful completion and utilization of the project.
“The buildings and technical expressions are at various stages of completion; some are at the foundation level…and the money is finished. Now as it sits, the state is of the view that it should not be left to rot. That is why the President [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] has asked that we go through a process to identify a private investor and or private investors who have technical and financial competencies to help us finish it and to operationalise it.”
When questioned about the government’s current focus on reviving the Saglemi Housing Project after it was abandoned in 2017, Oppong Nkrumah explained, “Minister Samuel Atta Akyea commissioned the evaluation, which then determined that we need about a $100 million to complete it.”
“It was based on his report that prosecution was occasioned somewhere around I think 2021, if my timelines are correct. Minister Asenso Boakye is the one who came to cabinet requesting for funding to continue the project.
“And cabinet did the considerations, went through all the options and said after spending $200m on this, the state couldn’t afford to spend anymore, especially at that time of the beginning of our economic challenges. And so, the decision was made to look for private interest.”
He acknowledged that the project should have progressed more during Akufo-Addo’s administration, but assured that things will change as they operate transparently.
“Everybody would wish, arguably so that we would have gone pass the process a lot earlier than where we are now, but the chronology of events is what I have shared with you.
“Our expectation is that, now that we have issued the RFP and with the timelines, and the transparency we are bringing to it, it will be better late than never.”
