48-Unit residential apartments for GAEC staff
The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), is partnering with a private developer, Muhassin Company Limited, to construct 48-unit residential apartments for workers of the commission.
The project is expected to be completed within 24 months, and would enhance operational efficiency, ensure rapid response to emergencies and also promote the overall welfare of workers.
The Public–Private Partnership (PPP) agreement project, which is situated on the premises of the commission, is expected to beef up an existing 200 housing units for staff population of over 800.
The project would include a commercial centre, drainage facilities and roads.
GAEC is the sole agency in Ghana responsible for all matters relating to peaceful uses of atomic energy.
It also contributes to scientific research, radiation safety, medical and industrial applications, and capacity building in science and technology.
Among dignitaries present at the sod-cutting event was the National Security Coordinator, Richard Jakpa.
In a speech read on behalf of the acting Minister of MESTI, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, by the Chief Director of the ministry, Madam Suweibatu Adams, he said the project formed part of the broader national housing agenda of the government.
Mr Kofi-Buah, who is the substantive Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said: "This project also reflects the forward-looking vision of GAEC’s leadership to strategically utilise available resources to sustain institutional and long term development".
Appreciation
The Director-General of GAEC, Prof Samuel Boakye Dampare, expressed appreciation to President John Dramani Mahama for personally ensuring that the dream of having new housing facilities for workers materialised.
He said the project marked the first major expansion of staff housing infrastructure since the original residential facilities were established under the then Ghana Nuclear Reactor Project (GNRP) in the early 1960s.
"The current project represents a major milestone in the growth of GAEC and in the nation’s broader scientific and technological development journey," Prof Dampare, said.
"Over the years, the commission has contributed to pest control programmes, the development of climate-resilient crops, food preservation through irradiation technologies, and the improvement of agricultural productivity," he said.
Appeal
The Board chairman of GAEC, Prof. Abdulai Baba Salifu, appealed to the President to declare the commission's site a national security zone to ward off intruders and encroachers because of it's sensitivity to safety and national development.
He said across the world, such sites were highly protected because a single mistake could trigger a national disaster.
GAEC was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 204 of 1963, to contribute to scientific research, radiation safety, medical and industrial applications.
It carries out its mandate through key institutes - the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI); the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI); the Radiation Protection Institute (RPI); the Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI); the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI); the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI), and the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS).
