Prince William welcoming PresidentAkufo-Addo at the Summit in London
Ghana is set to draw 326 million pounds sterling from the coffers of the British government for major infrastructural developments across the country.
One of the beneficiary projects of the investment funds is a £120 million export contract which would see the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital upgraded.
A £40 million Contracta Construction UK deal has been penciled under the investment deal for the new Kumasi Airport, as well as a £60 million funding for a new 250-bed capacity hospital in Koforidua.
Other projects include the Tema Aflao road project worth £80 million, as well as a £26 million Aqua Africa export contract for the supply of solar-powered water filtration systems in Ghana.
Investment Package
The deals were announced as part of a major investment package for some African countries during the just-ended UK-Africa Investment Summit of which President Akufo-Addo was a participant.
UK, through the summit, is actively looking to form a strong trading and investment relationship with African nations, which would hopefully benefit businesses on both continents for years to come.
Selected African countries are slated to benefit from the 27 deals worth over £6.5 billion.
It has emerged that the two countries — Ghana and the UK — have resolved to deepen the bilateral relations that exist between them during a separate engagement between President Akufo-Addo and his host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the sidelines of the summit.
Afro Nation
A major highlight of the maiden UK-Africa Summit was the five-year Africa exclusive events deal for Ghana to host Afro Nation annually.
This deal was signed in the presence of President Akufo-Addo between the Ghana Tourism Authority and Event Horizon Entertainment Ltd, operators of Afro Nation, “whereby Ghana would host Afro Nation in Africa exclusively on an annual basis for the next five years.”
The deal means investors, entrepreneurs, and small and medium size businesses have at least a five-year investment plan to focus on to exploit the anticipated annual Christmas traffic.
UK & Ghana
UK and Ghana have also resolved to explore areas of interest which will inure to the mutual benefit of the two countries and their respective populations.
President Akufo-Addo expressed his appreciation to the British government for its willingness to work with Ghana on the basis of trade and investment co-operation, and move away from the traditional aid-based relationship.
The President told his British counterpart that, over the course of the past three years, his government had worked hard to put Ghana’s economy back on track, and had succeeded in creating a business-friendly environment that had led to Ghana becoming the largest source of foreign-direct investment in West Africa.
“It is an exciting time to be in Ghana and to do business in the country. The prospects for Ghana’s and, indeed, Africa’s development in the 21st century are immense. British participation in that development would be very welcome,” he added.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the excellent relations existing between Ghana and the United Kingdom, and praised his Ghanaian counterpart for the work done in growing Ghana’s economy, and for making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
He touted the UK as the “ultimate one-stop shop for trade, education and tech”, adding that “look around the world today and you will swiftly see that the UK is not only the obvious partner of choice, but we’re also very much the partner of today, of tomorrow and decades to come.”
By A.R. Gomda