Accra Will Never Be The Same As Conti Project Commence—Mayor Declares
The Government of Ghana and the Conti Group of Companies of the United States of America have signed a US$660 million dollars for the commencement of the much anticipated Conti Project.
The Conti Project which is a five years project to be conducted in three different stages is expected to tackle the Accra flooding and some sanitation and environmental challenges bedeviling the city.
During a forum of chiefs and Assembly members organized by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly [AMA] to announce the official commencement of the project, the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Dr. Alfred Oko Vanderpuye, reiterated his commitment to making Accra one of the best cities on the continent.
Accra he added will never be the same after the completion of the project which is aimed at uplifting the image of the Ghanaian capital city. We are committed to making Accra the greenest and the finest city in Africa, he said.
He paid glowing tributes to late President Atta Mills for his determination to once and for all tackle the perennial challenges facing the Accra city and also to President John Mahama for not turning his back on his promise to collaborate with the AMA to making Accra the most finest city in Africa.
President Mahama he said has demonstrated his willingness, determination and commitment to continue the projects started by his predecessor late President Mills and for that matter the beautification of the Accra Metropolis.
He promised that the AMA will ensure that the project is completed on time and that massive public education on the project has been put in place to sensitize residents of the city on the project.
The Accra Mayor further announced that as part of the project , five millennium city schools will be established in the city and also work on the Slaha Market will commenced in early August 2013.
''The city of Accra is been watched by the whole of Africa and we cannot afford to fail the continent'' he said.
Mr. Graham Sarbah, the AMA Drains Maintenance Unit Director, on his part said the project to be known as '' Storm Water Drainage Alleviation Project'' will also address the Accra flooding problem.
The contractors, Conti Group of Companies after the completion of the project will maintain it for another three years before it is handed over to a wholly trained Ghanaian expertise to take over.
On the stages of the project, Mr. Sarbah explained that the first stage of the project will take care of desilting and drenching of the odaw stream starting from the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project [KLERP].
The first stage will not only make ways for storm water to be stored but to also restore the Korle Lagoon to its past glory days. The stage will also make ways for storm drains to be constructed within the Accra Metropolis as current drains are too small and not enough to contain waters especially when it rains.
The second stage of the Project will tackle the Accra sanitary situation which according to him is nothing good to write home about. The stage will see the construction of an Engineer Sanitary Landfill Site where all gabages will be processed ad recycled for other purposes.
The Project's final stage Mr. Sarbah noted will see the installation of an approximately 15 km storm sewer and combination sewer works. The Mataheko, Mamponse, South Kaneshie and Odorna drains will be respectively tackled during these stages.
The stage will also see the construction of 50 public toilet facilities, operation and maintenance of a Waste Water Treatment Plant [WWTP] at Jamestown, train and develop local employees to operate the WWTP, design and construct a new 450 metric ton per day waste sorting facility, provision of waste collection services for three years during project execution amongst others.
The Sector Ministers for Water Resource, Works and Housing and Local Government and Rural Development, hon. Alhaji Collins Dauda and hon. Akwasi Opong-Fosu respectively signed the contract on behalf of the Government of Ghana.