President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed government’s commitment to completing the reconstruction of the Effia-Nkwanta Government Hospital into a teaching hospital, as well as the new Western Regional Hospital at Apimenyim, in the Ahanta West Municipality.
Describing progress on the Effia-Nkwanta site as “very impressive,” President Mahama assured that all outstanding financial claims by the contractor would soon be validated and paid.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the project sites, the President said the initiative forms part of a broader national plan to decentralise healthcare infrastructure and ease the pressure on the Effia-Nkwanta facility, which for decades has served as the main referral centre for the Western Region.
“The intention for these projects is to spread out our health facilities so that you don’t have too much pressure on only one facility. Effia-Nkwanta has been the main hospital and referral centre for the region, so it became necessary to expand it and also build a second regional hospital at Apimenyim,” President Mahama stated.
He also noted that while the Effia-Nkwanta expansion project was about 45 percent complete, work on the Apimenyim Regional Hospital has lagged due to funding delays.
He, however, assured the contractors – Amandi Holdings Limited – that government was working closely with the Ministry of Finance to resolve the payment challenges and get work back on track.
“We are working with the Ministry of Finance and the contractors to make sure that their claims are validated and paid so that they can return to site,” the President emphasised.
“Governance is like a relay race, one government passes the baton to the next. The money invested here is the Ghanaian taxpayer’s money and we will not let it go to waste. The next time we gather here, it will be to commission the project.”
Providing technical details, Amandi Holdings’ site manager said the new regional hospital would be a modern seven-storey medical complex covering approximately 23,000 square meters with a capacity of 350 beds.
“The hospital includes a basement and six upper floors. The ground floor will house public health, emergency and trauma departments and imaging facilities.
“The first floor will accommodate chemotherapy, dialysis, and pediatric wards. The second floor will have six operating theatres, ICU, PICU, burn unit and CCSD, while the upper floors will host maternity, medical and surgical wards,” he explained.
He added that the facility would include a 400-body capacity mortuary and an emergency power centre to ensure uninterrupted operations.
Once completed, the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital will be upgraded into a first-class teaching hospital to serve the growing population of the Western Region and its environs.
President Mahama further assured that the Apimenyim hospital project, which currently stands at 15 percent completion, would be fully completed within 18 months once the contractor’s claims are settled.
President Mahama was accompanied by the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and Deputy Minister Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, as well as Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Western Regional Minister and several Members of Parliament.
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