Government says it has set aside an amount of US$100 million as commencement funding for its ambitious Agenda 111 project, which is aimed at scaling up healthcare infrastructure in the country.
The money has been made available for the first phase of the initiative, which will see to the construction of district hospitals, estimated at a unit cost of about US$17 million per facility.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, gave the update at a media engagement on Sunday, August 15, 2021.
The Minister said the project will begin on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, in the Ashanti Region where the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will inspect the commencement works.
He said while the district and specialized hospitals under the initiative will be funded by the Government of Ghana, that of the Regional Hospitals will be sealed under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract.
“Currently, commencement funding of US$100 million has been made available to the project through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Funds. For the project itself, it is budgeted at nearly US$17 million for each of the district hospitals. The district and specialized hospitals are being funded by the Government of Ghana but for the regional hospitals, EPC arrangements have been made. This project will naturally go across three budget cycles. So allocations have been made across the various budget cycles in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for what the Government of Ghana is bearing”, the Minister stated.
Out of the projected US$17 million for each district hospital, US$12.88 million will cater for civil works, with about US$4 million going into equipment required.
“Contractors for the projects have been secured, with the first set beginning work this week. We are starting off on Tuesday at Trade [in the Ashanti Region] and the other contractors soon afterwards will also begin theirs at the various districts across the country,” Mr. Oppong Nkurmah added.
As part of measures to tackle the ravaging health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government is seeking to construct 101 standard district hospitals with accommodation for doctors and nurses, six new regional hospitals in the six new regions, and one regional hospital for the Western Region.
The project will also see to the rehabilitation of Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in the Western Region, construction of two new psychiatric hospitals and a new Accra Psychiatric hospital.
Government has already engaged over 20 local consulting firms through a lead project consultant to provide architectural, engineering designs, and project management support towards the execution of the project.
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