Warehouse fire will not affect progress of Saglemi Affordable Housing Project

The Tuesday fire at the warehouse of the Saglemi Affordable Housing project was started by some labourers who had been engaged to clear the camp site for actual redevelopment to start.

In the process, the labourers set fire to clear some weeds they had gathered; however, the fire got out of control and spread to one of the external warehouses containing expired materials. 

The Ghana National Fire Service was therefore called in to handle the situation.

The Managing Director of Quarm-LMI Consortium, Kofi Adabor Ofori-Amanfo, has given the assurance that the warehouse fire will not impact the project.

Two sheds, which serve as warehouses and are located 477 meters from the existing housing project, caught fire on December 24, 2024.

In an interview with journalists after the fire on Wednesday, December 25, 2024, the Managing Director of Quarm LMI, Kofi Adabor Ofori-Amanfo, noted that the affected warehouse contained cartons of plumbing materials and some pipes used in the previous estate development.

He emphasized that this destruction would not affect the progress of the project under the new management.

He stated that the damaged materials had expired, adding that most of them would not be reused when the project restarts in 2025.

Cause of fire

Touching on the cause of the fire, Mr. Ofori-Amanfo said some labourers had been engaged to clear the camp site for actual redevelopment to start. 

He explained that in the process, the labourers set fire to clear some weeds they had gathered, but the fire got out of control and spread to one of the external warehouses containing the expired materials.

He said personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service at Sege were called in to handle the situation.

Mr. Ofori-Amanfo reiterated that the houses at the scheme had not been affected by the fire, adding that the two sheds contained cartons of plumbing materials and pipes that were used in previous works.

He clarified that most of the burnt materials had expired and would not be reused under the current development, which will start next year.

Mr. Ofori-Amanfo debunked assertions that documents were lost, stressing that the affected shed was not an office.

The MD said the fire incident would not impact the project since new materials would be brought in to complete it.

Saglemi Intact

The Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who was accompanied by the Chief Director of the Ministry to the site on Wednesday morning, emphasized that contrary to speculation that the housing project had been burnt, the project was still intact.

While waiting for the investigative report from the Ghana National Fire Service into the warehouse fire, the Minister admonished the developer to adhere to the relevant regulations and building codes as they prepare to start the redevelopment and also stick to agreed timelines.

Selection

Quarm-LMI Consortium was selected in October 2024 as the preferred developer to complete the Saglemi Housing project. 

This followed the conclusion of negotiations and the receipt of a report on negotiations from a government team comprising representatives of the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, and Deloitte, with technical evaluation support from the Ghana Institute of Surveyors.

The company is expected to complete the 1,506 Saglemi housing units, which will then be sold to the public, with a focus on salaried employees and workers' unions.