Former President John Dramani Mahama, the Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, has promised to initiate plans, designs, and feasibility studies for constructing a new city outside Accra to ease the growing congestion.
According to him, this will help create a new growth pole and generate hundreds of thousands of jobs during the construction phase and after completion.
“While Accra remains the capital, the time has come to decongest it by relocating some of the government ministries, departments, agencies, and financial institutions outside the city.”
“We will commence a feasibility study with a plan to construct a new city. Accra is grid-locked, and the time has arrived for us to relocate certain parts of the government services from Accra.”
He believes that a future city could straddle three regions, including Greater Accra, Eastern, and Volta Regions, and would be close to the Volta Lake, providing abundant water. He also noted that the new city would be green and digital, featuring tourist and amusement attractions, industrial parks, and financial services. The new city would be a 24-hour city that never sleeps.
“Accra will remain the capital, but we will transfer a portion of it elsewhere. There is already available land on the Accra Plains and the opposite bank of the Volta Lake. Moreover, we are establishing a port terminal in Mpakadan to transport cargo to the northern part of the country.”
He said much of the investment for the new city will be leveraged by the private sector and through public-private partnerships.
“There is abundant land in that area, allowing us to relocate some ministries, agencies, and departments out of the city and alleviate congestion,” he said.
President Mahama made these revelations while speaking with the European Union Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
The former President said, “Accra has expanded to its limits, and if we are not cautious, managing it as a sustainable city will become difficult. Thus, we will initiate the planning, design, and feasibility process. I anticipate that this project may take around 20 years to complete, but we need to take the first steps. Subsequent generations can then continue where we left off.”
The former President while on the Building Ghana Tour also assured citizens of decongesting the industrial enclave of the Tema area towards the western corridor for industrialization and job creation.
Source: Newsalertgh