Iranian business delegation calls on Minster of Works and Housing

Accra, Sept. 30, GNA - Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Works and Housing, on Friday called for more investment drive in the housing sector, saying it was a very lucrative sector. Mrs Owusu-Agyemang, who received a nine-member business delegation from Iran at his office in Accra, said the Government intended to give the housing sector a boost to ensure that enough houses were constructed at affordable prices for workers.

He said there was currently a serious shortage of housing to accommodate workers adding, "we need over 500,000 housing units for accommodation, but the Government is not even able to provide 10,000 unit houses of the expected 40,000 it is supposed to provide yearly for workers."

The Minister gave the assurance that the Government would give the needed support to any investor, who showed interest in the housing sector by way of land acquisition, tax holidays and ensure the necessary legislation backing to these contracts. Mr Owusu-Agyemang also urged them to also explore other areas including the water sector to ensure affordable water supply for both rural and urban dwellers.

He said the water sector was financially stressed and could not meet its target of providing potable water to all areas and, therefore, urged the private sector and donors to invest in the area. Mr Hamid Kalantary, Governor-General of the Yazd Province, Iran, who was the leader of the delegation, said they were in the country to explore business opportunities in the housing industry. He commended the Government for maintaining the current favourable business climate and said the Iranian Government looked forward to strengthening the relationship that existed between the two countries. 30 Sept. 05