The primary subcontractor responsible for the construction of the Afari Military Hospital in Kumasi has recently returned its technical staff to the site to complete the installation works at the 500-bed facility. TeQV had previously left the site due to financing issues but resumed work last week. The contractor, Euroget De-Invest, has instructed the resumption of work to bring the project to a close and prepare for its eventual inauguration.
A team of government officials, led by the Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Nsiah Asare, was yesterday joined by the Country Director of Euroget De-Invest, Abraham Dwuma Odoom, and other officials of the company and top military officers on a tour of the project to assess the progress of work. Briefing the team during the tour, the Resident Engineer, Abou Shamar, said 150 technical staff were currently cleaning and painting the facility for a full resumption of installation works.
He said given the progress of work, the hospital could be handed over to the government within three months if there were no new hitches. As of April last year when Euroget first engaged TeQV, only two per cent of the work on the project remained for it to be completed. At the time, the subcontractor was to provide finishing works, mainly installations, to pave the way for the handover to the government.
Finances resolved
Dr Asare said “the project was stopped for some time due to some financial issues among the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defence and the contractor, but we’ve been able to solve that and the contractor has been resourced to move to site.
So this morning, we wanted to come and have a look”. “This project is very dear to the heart of the President, and we want to finish it as quickly as possible. Some part of the road has been asphalted and they’ve started clearing all the weed, and the contractors have told us by March, this project will be completed,” he added.
He said the military would start using the facility even before it was inaugurated. “With the progress of work, I’m seeing right now, I am very sure that by March, the contractor will finish,” Dr Asare said. “We’re also going to hold the contractor by his words. We will keep asking for updates on the project very often.
We are happy that whatever negotiations that went on between the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Finance have materialised, and we want to tell everybody that this project is back on track,” he added. The Euroget country director said, “Most of the equipment for the project are in the country.
Currently, we’ve taken delivery of about eight containers, including equipment for (the project at) Salaga, which is about 80 per cent complete. We assure the country and the President that by March next year, the project will be completed so that at the end of the day, the good people of Ghana will benefit from it”.
Euroget projects
The Afari Military Hospital is one of nine hospitals awarded to Euroget, an Egyptian investment company, for construction in the country. The company has already delivered the Wa Regional Hospital in the Upper West Region, the Ga East Municipal Hospital at Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region, the Ahafo Ano North Municipal Hospital at Tepa in the Ashanti Region, the Tain District Hospital in the Bono Region and the Twifo-Atti-Morkwa District Hospital at Twifo Praso in the Central Region.
By: Emmanuel Baah
