The abandoned La Beach Towers project on Accra’s La beachfront is now under formal technical assessment by the Engineering Council, as authorities step up scrutiny of unsafe structures across the capital following a deadly building collapse last month.
Engineer Isaac Badu, Registrar of the Engineering Council under the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, confirmed on Joy FM’s Midday News on Monday, March 30, 2026, that the La Beach Towers project is among several structures in Accra currently under technical review. He disclosed that meetings have already been held with the developers and consultants involved in the project.
“We’ve had meetings with the developers and consultants, and we are assessing it. Once we complete our assessment, we will make recommendations,” Engineer Badu said.
The development follows the collapse of an uncompleted three-storey building at Accra New Town on March 29, which claimed three lives and renewed concerns about structural safety and regulatory enforcement in the capital.
A Dream That Stalled on the Waterfront
The La Beach Towers project has a complicated and well-documented history. The project was initiated around 2009 by Cypress Investments Limited and was planned as three 17-storey towers on the La beachfront. The total development cost was projected at US$80 million, with Ghana Home Loans committing to raise US$100 million in mortgage funding to support buyers under an off-plan sales model.
Construction began in 2011 after the Barbisotti brothers, who run the construction firm MBS out of Tema, came on board. One of the first things they did was bring in architect Alessandro Masoni to take a closer look at the planned designs. The revised vision, however, ran into commercial difficulty. Rising construction costs and a mismatch between the project’s marketing, particularly promises of ocean views, and what many apartments could actually deliver led to a loss of buyer confidence. Prices were increased to cover financial gaps, which deterred further sales.
Construction was suspended in 2016 following the murder of co-owner and Member of Parliament J.B. Danquah-Adu at his East Legon home, leaving the 17-storey structure unfinished and exposed to decay from salt air corrosion.
The Structural Question
As recently as 2022, the Physical Planning Officer of the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LADMA), Anthony Mompi, stated that rumours of structural integrity issues were false, saying the project was halted due to a lack of funds, not structural concerns. He noted there was no evidence at the time to suggest the building would collapse.
That position has now shifted to one of formal assessment. Engineer Badu indicated that the Engineering Council occasionally identifies potentially unsafe structures during routine inspections or through reports, and that enforcement actions, once recommendations are made, are carried out by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), which hold the legal mandate to act.
The proximity of the structure to the ocean has long been cited as a compounding factor. Exposed iron rods and metal components at the site are subject to ongoing corrosion from sea air, a process that structurally weakens reinforced concrete buildings over time.
What Happens Next
Residents in the La area have expressed mixed views on the situation. Some are calling for urgent action to either complete or demolish the structure, while others believe efforts should focus on supporting investors to revive the project.
La Beach Towers is seen by many urban planners as more than an abandoned luxury project. It symbolises a broader national challenge of stalled development and regulatory gaps, with incomplete structures across Ghana remaining largely unmonitored and sometimes becoming hazards over time.
The Engineering Council’s assessment is ongoing, and no timeline for a formal recommendation has been made public.
