La General Hospital will be completed on schedule… Finance Minister assures
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has assured of the completion of the La General Hospital on schedule in order to provide the needed healthcare service to the La community and its environs.
He said the project had been prioritised as part of government’s broader plan to improve healthcare delivery in the country and the dedication to meeting the specified construction schedule.
The Minister was speaking during a visit to the site yesterday to inspect ongoing preliminary works on the construction site.
“We are fully committed to finishing the construction work according to schedule. The La General Hospital project is a priority for the government, and we are working diligently to ensure its completion within the specified timeframe,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.
He further expressed satisfaction with the rapid progress made since his announcement about the project barely two weeks ago.
This was after the Ministry of Finance had successfully secured €50 million in alternative local funding for the reconstruction of the hospital.
The 164-bed facility is being constructed by the Poly Changda Overseas Engineering Company Limited, with a projected completion period of 30 months. Part of it, however, is slated to be open in 2024.
The facility’s master layout includes the main hospital building, along with accommodation for staff members, an oxygen production plant, a services building, a mortuary, and a car park.
The comprehensive plan aimed to address the structural challenges of the previous dilapidated hospital, which was deemed inadequate for serving the health needs of the La community and its environs.
The La General Hospital Redevelopment Project was initiated in August 2020 when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo broke ground for the construction.
The urgency of the project stemmed from the weakened structural integrity of the old facility and the pressing need to enhance healthcare services in the region.
For his part, a representative from the Ministry of Health (moh), Mr Benjamin Ampomah Nkansah, Director of Infrastructure Directorate, noted that, they had to speak to the Ministry of Finance to address funding challenges which nearly curtailed the start of the projects adding that, in the absence of any funding challenges, it would be completed and handed over to management within a year.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
