Dr. Noskim Atidigah (2nd R) with some stakeholders
Stakeholders in the built environment, representatives from the various ministries and agencies last Friday met to discuss details of plans to redevelop Nima and adjoining communities into first-class residential areas.
The forum, organised by the ‘Ghana Fund’, a public charitable Trust for public project, also discussed how the adjoining communities including Mamobi, Kotobabi and Newtown would also be converted into first-class residential as well as a commercial areas to attract domestic and international tourists.
Speaking at the forum, Chief Executive of the ‘Ghana Fund’, Dr. Noskim Atidigah, said the project is expected to convert approximately 6.5 square kilometers of the communities into world best cities by providing over 300, 000 housing units in the next five years.
He said the project also aimed at providing residents of Nima and surrounding communities with improved living conditions by allocating to them a decent house equal to their original homes before the construction, while demystifying the negative perception of people about residents in the area.
According to him, the redevelopment and provision of housing units, which is estimated to cost $40 billion, have features including a 100,000-bed comprehensive hospital, 720,000 square metres of exhibition space, 5,000-seater conference room and 25 kilometre metro rail transport system.
Others are 5,000-seater theatre, advanced automated waste management systems, electronic security surveillance of all public areas, and vehicle repair centre among others.
He said although there are plans by the Fund to construct low and medium buildings, the first phase of the project will focus on high rise buildings for both residential and commercial purposes, to address the critical housing needs for all categories of occupants of the various households in the area.
He assured residents and the public of its readiness to provide a decent but temporary place for all those who may be relocated before construction work begin, while it continues to engage all relevant state institutions before the project starts.
Dr. Atidigah further mentioned that an inventory of all the number of houses and households among other relevant information will also be considered at all stages of the project, to ensure residents are allocated houses due them without any difficulty.
“My outfit is also working with other experts from other institutions to procure the best technology as well as ensure that the project goes through all the required processes, including quality assurance, procurement, architectural designs and all the necessary requirement, in order to provide the best first-class houses for residents of Nima and adjoining communities,” he added.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah