Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah and some officials of the ministry have paid a working visit to some ongoing drainage and sewerage projects at Ashaiman and Bankuman communities in the Tema and Ashiaman municipalities under the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMASWP).
The move is to enable the officials of the ministry to have first-hand information on the progress of works and also be abreast of challenges in relation to the drainage and sewerage systems of the two project sites.
Addressing the media after the tour, the Minister expressed gratitude to the contractors and the consultants for their dedication and commitment in advancing the project to an appreciable level in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
According to her, over 4,800 households comprising 24,000 people will benefit from the project at a cost of GHȻ28 million and will be completed by December 2020. He said it is the government’s commitment to ensure that every household gets a toilet facility.
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The minister added that the project is designed to receive all sewage from various households to the central system. She explained that it is part of the government’s efforts to address the sanitation and waste needs of the two communities.
The Project Coordinator for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project, Ing. George Asiedu said the project is steadily on course and have operated within its timelines. He said both will be officially operational by the end of the year.
He explained that the entire community’s waste will be directed to the central sewage system adding that additional measures and mechanisms have been put in place to expand the sewerage plant as the population of the communities grow. It will enhance the sanitary conditions for the residence in the said communities.
He said the government is working fervently to extend similar projects to other communities across the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of providing affordable water and improved sanitation.
On the Ashiaman sewerage network project, involve the construction of a new simplified sewerage network covering Ashiaman New Town community and rehabilitation of an existing sewerage network in the TDC quarters. The total cost of the project is GHȻ 21 million Ghana Cedis with work progress of about 25%.
On the Bankuman simplified sewerage project, it involves the laying of new collector sewer lines, rehabilitation of existing trunk sewer lines, and the construction of a new sewerage treatment plant approximately 800 households which will cover 6,000 people will benefit from the project at a cost of GHȻ5.7 million Ghana Cedis. The progress of work was about 30% complete.
By Ben LARYEA