The old MBU building at KATH
THE MUCH-talked-about Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) uncompleted building at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi is set to be demolished.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, who made the disclosure, said there are structural defects in the building which had been there for over 40 years, and could collapse one day.
In this regard, he noted that the contractor had admonished that the imposing uncompleted building be pulled down to pave way for a modern building.
He stated that a new building would be constructed in place of the demolished one to also serve as an MBU to help boost healthcare services at KATH.
The minister said on radio on Tuesday that sensitisation of the intended demolition exercise was currently ongoing.
Mr. Mensah said the contractor was at the site working to complete the old building as authorized by President Akufo-Addo when they recognized some serious structural defects in the building.
He said the contractor therefore said it would be best to demolish the old-looking structure and construct a new one to serve the same purpose.
According to him, the contractor has said the pillars could not contain the load that the building would take upon completion.
“This is an international contractor and with their reputation at stake, they don’t want to complete a project that would collapse and dent their image,” he said.
“The same amount of money that was supposed to be used to complete the old building, would be used to build the new building. The contractor would build the new project with the same initial project cost and time,” he said, adding that “the final meeting would determine the bed capacity of the MBU. The contractor suggested 500 bed capacity but we want an increase.”
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi