Businessman spends 30 million cedis on Breman drainage project

The management of De Appiah's Business Complex has embarked on a 30 million-cedis drainage and environmental control project around river Akyampomene at Breman Junction, near Kumasi to check and control the persistent flooding of the area.

It is the first phase of a two-year programme estimated at over 100 million cedis aimed at reclaiming areas liable to flood at Breman Junction to protect buildings and other structures sited in the area and control the increasing degradation of the environment.

Mr Harrison Oppong-Appiah, Executive Director of De Appiah's Business Complex, who led newsmen to inspect the project on Tuesday, is the sole financier of the project as his contribution towards the improvement of environmental condition and sanitation at Breman. Mr Oppong-Appiah, who owns a fleet of business centres including a restaurant, drinking parlours, barbering saloon, car wash, communication and computer laboratory at Breman Junction, said he has observed some anomalies in land use in the area including unplanned siting of buildings and structures, which is the major cause of flooding. Another cause, he said is deep erosion, choked gutters and drains around the headwaters of river Akyampomene. He said "the rapid flow of the river from Tafo Abotanso through choked gutters, gullies and silted drains to Breman Junction and the dumping of refuse and other objects in it result in flooding, which cause extensive erosion and other environmental hazards".

Mr Oppong-Appiah, who describes himself as an environmentalist, said he has constructed good drainage system, de-silted choked gutters and checked deep erosion from Breman Junction through Breman West to Kronom a distance of about one kilometre and has also constructed deep trenches around river Akyampomene headwaters to ensure its free flow.