Ghana needs $1.6 billion investment in infrastructure

Accra, Oct. 25, GNA - Government needs to invest $1.6 billion per annum over a 10-year period to deal with Ghana's infrastructural deficit, Ms Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade said at a press conference in Accra on Monday.

She said the money is needed to transform the country's economic fortunes to a middle-income status.

Ms Tetteh said government recognises the need to secure more investment to achieve rapid socio-economic development within the shortest possible time and to wean the economy from dependency on agricultural and mineral commodities to a diversified and prosperous industrial nation.

Speaking on the outcome of President Evans Atta Mills' recent trip to China, she said due to the long standing bilateral relations, Ghana was able to secure nine billion dollars in the form of bilateral assistance, grants and donations.

The money includes $12 million for the provision of boreholes for selected rural communities and the construction of a modern sports complex and Kotokraba Market in Cape Coast.

Ms Tetteh said an additional $20 million interest free loan agreement was signed to support the construction of fish landing sites in selected coastal communities in the Central Region. "Another agreement signed involves the provision by China of a concessionary loan of $250 million to support the on-going rehabilitation of the Kpong Water Works," she said.

She said the loan would attract an interest rate of two per cent and would be payable over a period of 20 years.

Concerning private sector financial commitments, Ms Tetteh said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by both countries under which a Chinese telecommunication company would donate and install equipment worth three million dollars.

The donations would include video conferencing equipment and installations to interconnect the office of the President and other executive offices, laboratory equipment for the University for Development Studies, University of Ghana and the University of Cape Coast to enhance Information and Communication Technology on their campuses.

Another financial commitments was signed in a form of MoU with the China Exim Bank to support the implementation of E-government platform project which is expected to connect 140 locations (made up of Ministries, Departments and Agencies), to improve the efficiency and productivity of government machinery.

Ms Tetteh said government secured a comprehensive project financing facility of three billion dollars with the China Development Bank. "This facility is to finance comprehensive infrastructure projects and more importantly the components of the key industrial projects that will help us to create an oil and gas driven industrial architecture and transform our economy."

She explained that under the project, government has targeted the Western Corridor Gas Commercialisation and the Industrial Mineral Processing Estate projects to complement the on-going activities aimed at establishing a gas processing plant at Bonyere to utilise the gas discoveries at the offshore Jubilee and Sankofa fields. It would also facilitate the development of an industrial minerals processing estate in the new export processing zone to be developed in Sekondi.

Ms Tetteh said government also signed a framework agreement on integrated financing co-operation with the China Exim Bank to provide Ghana with the option to access a variety of financial services including equity investment and the provision of loans to fund 19 identified projects, especially in the health, railways, roads, agriculture and educational sectors.

"In principle, the China Exim Bank has agreed to commit a total of $5.9 billion to the projects, and where for one reason or another it is not possible to include an agreement on any of the 19 projects identified, government has the right to propose an alternative project to enable our country to benefit from this financing facility," she said.