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28.06.2017 Social News

Government asked to define Accra's development plan'

By GNA
Government asked to define Accra's development plan'
28.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 28, GNA - Mr Bright Owusu-Amofa, the Chief Executive Officer of Appolonia City, has noted that government can create enabling environment for real estate by focusing on development of major satellite towns and cities around Accra via major highways and rail links.

He said the authorities must facilitate the acquisition of land and development of such satellite cities because no investor wanted to invest time, energy and money into acquiring land only to be embroiled in long winding litigation thereafter.

'To facilitate the development of such cities, the metropolitan and government must be willing and able to either acquire or facilitate the acquisition of bulk developable land for the development of new cities, towns, and catchment area as was done in the Docklands and is currently being done in the Ivory Coast,' he added.

He said this in Accra at the Citi Business Festival discussion on Real Estate in the country on the theme: 'Fixing Ghana's Housing Problem.'

The forum is to drive national discourse on the real estate and housing industry in the country with focus on the future of housing, sustainability, affordability, standards and financing.

Mr Owusu-Amofa said the viability of Tema as a satellite city to Accra was significantly enhanced by the construction of the Tema Motorway.

He said if the country was ready to unlock the West and East of Accra to Satellite city developments, then it was imperative to think about enabling infrastructure such as highways and rail links through public private partnerships.

'The use of incentive programmes to drive corporations and individuals to move into satellite cities would also help Accra meet its development objectives and decongest the city,' he said.

He said if these initiatives were used properly, it could also incentivice the use of alternative technologies in building and drive down the cost of development in the country by as much as 30 per cent, making real estate more affordable.

He said the growth of the real estate market would function effectively with access to credit and that more needed to be done to deepen the mortgage market through pension funds and the ability to take positions in listed securities.

Mr Kingsley Letsa, Business Development Manager at Nexans, was of the view that procurement policies in the country must be neutral to promote infrastructural development.

He said it was incumbent for government to use procurement to encourage local content.

He called for harmonisation of standards in the real estate industry through public private partnerships.

Mr Sammy Amegayibor, Member of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association, called for the creation of an authority that would be solely responsible for regulating the sale of lands to address litigations.

Mr Kojo Addo-Kufuor, the Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, urged stakeholders to address the country's infrastructural needs to benefit Ghanaians.

GNA

By Kodjo Adams/Twum Badu, GNA

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