Afari 500-bed military hospital due to be completed in December

Work on the 500-bed military hospital facility at Afari in the Atwima Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region is ongoing and progressing steadily.

When a team of journalists visited the site last Saturday, work was ongoing, with the administration block almost completed and most of the structures at the roofing level.

The administration block had been roofed and painted, with all the air conditioners fitted.

There had been reports that construction works had halted, but the main contractors of the project, Euroget Group, denied the reports.

According to the Resident Manager, Ing Islam Sharawy, the project suffered some delays which were beyond Euroget’s control, but denied halting the project and abandoning the construction site.

“The physical structures are about 90 per cent complete, while the road network is at the tarring stage,” he said.

Reasons for delay

Construction works began in March 2014 and was expected to be completed by September 2017.

One of the reasons for the delay, Mr Sharawy said, was the problems Euroget had with some encroachers who took over the land allocated for the project.

“It took us almost five months to settle the land issue to enable us to start work,” he stated.

Apart from the land issue, he said, the  company had difficulties clearing goods from the ports due to the long period of waiting for Parliament to approve its tax exemptions.

“Aside from cement and sand, almost all other materials meant for the project have to be imported and any time we encounter problems at the ports, it affects our timeline,” he added.

Mr Sharawy said due to the challenges, the completion date for the project had been extended to December 2018, adding that “the rate at which we are progressing, we should be able to meet the new deadline.”

He noted that the company was committed to doing top quality work and advised sub-contractors on the project to work to specification or risk losing their contracts.

Commitment

For his part, the Country Manager of Euroget Group, Mr Prince Armah, told the Daily Graphic that the company was committed to the terms of contract and would ensure that the project was completed for the benefit of Ghanaians.

Euroget, he said, was in the country to serve Ghanaians and not the interest of any political party.

“When completed, the hospital will not only serve members from a particular political party but all Ghanaians irrespective of their political affiliations,” he said.

He, therefore, appealed to the workers on the project to be focused and ignore rumours that it was gradually becoming a white elephant.

The hospital

The Afari Military Hospital is a 500-bed facility being constructed at a cost of $180 million and will on completion have a residential facility for the medical staff, kitchen, laundry, mortuary, a primary health care facility and will also serve as a referral centre.

Other projects

Euroget entered into a concessional supplier’s credit facility and a Turnkey contract with the Ghana government in 2008 to construct nine fully functional hospitals with a total complement of 1310 beds, including the Afari Military Hospital.

In addition, the company is building eight other hospitals for the Ministry of Health: two regional hospitals in Wa and Kumasi and six district hospitals at Salaga, Twifo Praso, Madina (Now at Atomic/Kwabenya), Konongo, Nsawkaw and Tepa which are at various stages of completion.