… Veep Commends Mayor On Progress Report
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (A.M.A) is preparing ?the grounds for the commencement of the US$660 million dollar 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 the city is faced with.
The Project will also give Accra a new image, as Accra will never be the same after the completion of the project which is aimed at uplifting the image of the Ghanaian capital city.
Officials of the A.M.A led by the Mayor, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, have been working along, clearing project sites and ensuring that the CONTI Project takes-off smoothly.
As at yesterday, Friday August 15, 2014, during our visit to the site, the Agbogbloshie area covering about 1.4 kilometres was cleared, squatters were moved away from the drain and about 70 feet buffer was created along the drain to give free access to vehicles and trucks that will be used during the exercise.
The exercise covered Arena Railway crossing near Kokompe to the Korle Lagoon and Agbogbloshie to the Korle Lagoon which is expected to meet at the Korle Basin.
The project which was also supported by Zoomlion intends to improve Accra?s flood protection and waste water treatment as well as steps forward the city?s position as the Millennium city.
Parliament approved the loan facilities with the Export?Import Bank (EXIM) of the USA and providing 53,299,497 dollars, while the Standard Chartered Bank has also contribute 125,000 dollars.
The scope of the work will include desilting, dredging new siltation ponds and the removal of from caked silt the Odaw drains and the Korle lagoons. It will also construct public toilets and eliminate sting and odour around the Korle Lagoon and the Odaw River; as well as restore the operation of the existing waste-water treatment plan.
Stage one is the immediate construction stage which comprise of approximately 150,000m cube of channel cleaning and excavation of the Odaw channel, Central Business District Drain, and the KLERP Interceptor area.
Bathymetric survey of the Korle Lagoon would be conducted to prepare the exact dredging scope and design for stage 1b of the work, waste collection would finally be conducted.
The project will re-vitalize and dredge 500,000 meter cube area of the Korle Lagoon.??Twenty hectares of sedimentation basins upstream would be constructed along the Odaw Channel.
Also, there will be the implementation stage that will include the construction of a 15- kilometer storm sewer and combination sewer works throughout Accra with priority drain upgrades in Mataheko, Mamponse and south Kaneshie drains.
About 6,300 meters of drain covers in Mataheko and the central business districts of Accra would be installed.
The Jamestown Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) project would be upgraded and re-commissioned after which 50 public toilet facilities would be constructed.
The implementers will design and construct a new 450 metric ton per day waste sorting facility and operate and maintain the facility for 3 years after its commissioning.
The implementers would provide waste collection services during its execution and carry out feasibility studies and new landfill design.
The Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, who also toured the site commended the Local Government Ministry and the Mayor of Accra for the progress of work within this period of two weeks.
He said, it was the recommendation of the Local government Minister, Julius Debrah and the Mayor of Accra, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije for him to join the clean up, evacuation and desilting of the Korle Lagoon project to boost the morale of the clean up team led by the Mayor.
The tour started from La Wireless, through the principal streetsof Accra to Agbogbloshie, Gala-way, Sodom and Gomorrah, Kokomlemle, Britnia, Malata.
