The French Embassy appears not to be enthused about Ghana’s urban infrastructural development.
It is for this reason that it’ organizing a two-day seminar on public-private partnerships and sustainable cities at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra starting from 29th September 2016 to interact with policymakers, architects and estate developers and brief them on new urban infrastructural trends.
A statement issued by the Embassy in Accra stated: “Ghana is the second biggest economy of the ECOWAS zone after Nigeria. The country attained the category of lower middle-income countries in 2010 and has better development indicators than most sub-Saharan economies. However, infrastructural needs remain crucial: transport, roads, water and sanitation, health, administrative organization, and most especially electricity supply.”
The programme is being organized in partnership with Business France and the French Chamber of Commerce in Ghana.
The first day will feature a seminar on public-private partnerships and focus on four key sectors for Ghana’s economy.
“For each sector, a French company will present a project it successfully completed in a country similar to Ghana.”
“On 30th September, in order to have a better understanding of the French approach and an illustration of these PPP examples, the Embassy, in partnership with Institut Francais and ArchiAfrika, will organize a presentation on the Ghanaian and French approaches to sustainable cities.
This will be carried out through round tables with both countries participants, and the presentation of a digital demonstrator designed from A to Z by more than 100 French companies, showing the unique and original global approach that puts together private companies, as well as public decision makers to design a whole city,” it said.
It stated that on the second day, the conference will focus on architects and policy makers, and the realities and perspectives of sustainable cities in Ghana would be addressed.
“Since French companies have recorded worldwide success in the aforementioned sectors, particularly through public-private partnerships, these will serve as good examples to meet Ghana’s current needs.
“The sustainable city approach will allow decision makers and urban actors to think and act differently, with new practices and techniques designed for a new urban model with effective solutions for critical issues such as housing problems, urban ecology, transports, human and social development.”
Since 2010, the Ghanaian population in urban population areas has been 51.5 percent and it’s expected to double by 2030.
A business desk report