SSNIT To Complete Asokore-Mampong Affordable Housing

Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, SSNIT Director General, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang and other board members being briefed by the site Manager, Cobbina Banning at the Project site on Friday during the inspection

Government's Affordable Housing project at Asokore-Mampong in the Ashanti Region is expected to be completed between September and December 2018, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, Director-General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has said.

According to him, the project, which is being undertaken by 75 contractors with 16 sub-contractors and eight others, is about 75 percent complete.

It would deliver a total of 1,079 housing units for occupation by next year. SSNIT is committed to helping government to meet the housing needs of the citizenry half-way, he added.

Dr Ofori-Tenkorang, who inspected the project with other members of SSNIT's board of trustees, stated that the trust has received several applications from interested individuals, professional associations and institution who want to buy some of the housing units.

The project, which consists of 91 blocks of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom flats with complementary infrastructure and community facilities, was started in 2006 by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing under the leadership of Hackman Owusu Agyemang.

The project, which stalled in early 2009 following change of government, became the haven of armed robbers.

It has management block, tarred internal road network with drains, walkways, car parks, central sewerage treatment plant, water storage and distribution network for uninterrupted water supply.

Other facilities include external power supply and street lighting, fence wall, guard house, police station and community shops for residents.

In November 2015, government handed over the Asokore-Mampong project to SSNIT to complete at the cost of $62.34 million, having taken over the Borteyman project in Accra earlier.

Dr. Ofori-Tenkorang revealed that SSNIT has partnered some reputable banks that will provide mortgage loans to interested purchasers.

Board Chairman of SSNIT, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, who led the delegation to inspect the facility, expressed satisfaction with the work done so far.

“We are very much impressed about the quality of work done so far. What everybody is waiting for is the time for the project to be completed, and this is what the Director-General has told you,” he noted.

He indicated that government is committed to addressing the housing deficit.

“The objective of the affordable housing scheme at various locations is to provide accommodation for low to middle income workers, create jobs and build the capacity of local contractors, he added.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi