More houses ready in June

December 29, 2007 (Back page)

FOUR thousand five hundred affordable housing units will be ready for occupation in June, next year.
The bed sitter, single and two-bedroom apartments, which are situated at Borteyman and Kpone in Accra and Asokore Mampong in the Ashanti Region, form part of the government’s effort to ease the housing problem in the country.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Boniface Abubakar Siddique, told the Daily Graphic in Accra on Thursday that the apartments would be given out for rent or outright purchase to Ghanaians, particularly public servants.
To facilitate the speedy completion of the project, he said the government had released an additional ¢169 billion for payment to the contractors on the project.
“The government is also working out a comprehensive mortgage scheme with some financial institutions to make the payment for the apartments more flexible,” Mr Siddique explained.
He said prices for outright sale would range between ¢120 million and ¢200 million and would be spread over a payment period of between 10 and 20 years.
Mr Siddique said primary beneficiaries of the first phase of the project, which began more than four years ago, would be civil and public servants.
When the Daily Graphic team visited Kpone and Borteyman to ascertain the progress of work on the projects, contractors were either busily roofing or putting finishing touches to some of the completed units.
Asked about how people could access the apartments, he said “people are applying and we have now received more than 1,000 applications”.
He said the Koforidua and Tamale projects were also ongoing, adding that the affordable housing project would soon be replicated in the Upper East, Upper West, Western, Central and Volta regions.
Touching on the provision of regular uninterrupted supply of water, Mr Siddique said the government had sourced $92 million to provide water for residents of Sunyani.
He said the amount comprised a $62 million commercial credit facility from Lemna International Corporation of the USA and a $30 million grant from the Chinese Government.
According to the minister, the money would be used for the construction of a dam and reservoir, as well as for the provision of a plant to treat 10 million gallons of water a day.
Mr Siddique further stated that a 66.8 kilometre new pipelines for transmission and distribution of water would also be laid.
He explained that the project, which would benefit more than one million residents over a 20-year period would kick off next year.
He further stated that projects which were all aimed at providing potable water for residents of Berekum, Damongo, Wa and Yendi would also be embarked upon next year.
The minister pointed out that a $198 million expansion project at Kpong Water Works was currently ongoing to provide water to various parts of Accra.