The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye yesterday cut sod to commence a US$200 million World Bank funded project aimed to curb flooding in communities along the Odaw river basin.
The first phase of the project involves the development of primary and secondary drains, access roads, solid waste management facilities, and extension of security lights, and water supply networks at Alogboshie in the Okaikwei North Municipality.
Similar infrastructure will be developed in the coming weeks at Akweteyman and Nima, the remaining two beneficiary flood-prone low-income settlements under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project.
Mr Asenso-Boakye said in addition to enhancing public service provision in the community, the project was expected to drastically reduce the perennial flooding challenges in Alogboshie and serve as a pathway to progress.
He said the projects was a testament to the government’s commitment to enhancing access to basic social infrastructure, improving public service provision and reducing the vulnerability of priority low-income communities within the Greater Accra Region to flooding and other natural disasters.
He noted that the GARID project was making good strides with the ongoing resettlement of project affected persons preceding the construction of the storm drains from Nima-Paloma area through Asylum Down to the Odaw River channel, as well as the repair of the broken sections of the Odaw channel at Abofu, spanning the section from the Achimota Overhead Bridge to the N1 Overhead Bridge.
Similarly, he stated that, resettlement of project-affected persons by the proposed reconstruction of Kaneshie storm drains would commence in January following which works would proceed.
Mr Asenso-Boakye noted that the Ministry was collaborating with the Ghana Hydrological Authority, the Water Resources Commission, the Ghana Meteorological Agency, and NADMO to establish a Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) for the Greater Accra Region.
He added that despite significant investments in the National Flood Control and Priority Drainage Programmes, the government’s efforts were being undermined by the inappropriate behavior of residents of Accra, including building in waterways, indiscriminate dumping of solid waste that finds its way into drains, and inadequate maintainable of existing drains.
“The implementation of the GARID project’s interventions, and all other flood mitigation measures, will not succeed if such behaviour and underlying attitudes do not change,” he said.
Madhu Raghunath, Manager for Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice, World Bank, said the project would help to reduce flood risk, and ensure the realisation of urban build resilience.
The Coordinator of GARID project, Dr Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, said a contractor had been secured and was prepared to move to site.
The Chief of Alogboshie, Emmanuel Nii Kuma urged the residents to support the contractor undertake the project in a timely manner.
He said the traditional authority was open to all engagements that would results in the completion of the project.
“Let’s all support the project. We should disrupt the contractor with actions and activities will impede the implementation of the project,” he stated
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS