Parliament has approved a €63-million
Contract Agreement between the Government of Ghana and Poly Changda Overseas Engineering Company Limited of China for the rehabilitation and equipping of the La General Hospital in Accra.
The contract agreement covers the engineering, procurement and construction of the Hospital, already shut down to make way for the redevelopment project, necessitated by the facility’s deplorable condition.
The project is intended to provide the required infrastructure, medical equipment and ancillary services to ensure that the Hospital is fully operational, and provide the enabling condition for attracting the needed healthcare professionals.
A detailed implementation plan of the project includes the components of loan acquisition, demolition of existing structures, construction of new facilities, training of human resource and staff development activities.
The Health Committee of Parliament Report on the proposed project said there was urgency attached to the project, and so approval was being sought for the Agreement, pending the outcome of value for money audit, which was in the pipeline.However, payment schedule was not attached to the contract agreement.
“The Officials of the Ministry of Health who participated in the deliberation explained that it is usually done during the value for money audit, and so would be made available to Honourable Members in due course,” the Report said.
Parts of the Hospitals to be given face-lift include surgical, emergency, maternity, male and female wards, laboratory, physiotherapy department, public health department and the diagnostic centre.
The redevelopment project is scheduled to begin in April 2020 and will be executed by the Chinese Company, within two years.