Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, has broken the ground for the construction of a 22.7 million Ghana-Cedi ultra-modern one-stop office complex for all the departments in the land sector in the Ashanti Region.

The 15-month project signifies the commencement of the second phase of the Land Administration Project (LAP-2) in the region.

It will have offices for the Lands Commission, Administration of Stool Lands and the Town and Country Planning.

The LAP-Two is a long-term 15 to 25 years reform in the land sector, intended to implement the key policy actions recommended in the Ghana National Land Policy of 1999 to address critical issues militating against effective land administration in the country.

In an address, Nii Osah Mills, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said the region was chosen for the complex because of its well-organized traditional systems of land governance under the watchful eyes of the Asantehene, which guarantees land tenure system.

He said the new building will be the first one constructed for the operationalization of the Clients Service and Access Unit (CSAU) facilitating the inter-operations of the Nationwide Global Navigation Dateline System into the operations of CSAU.

The Minster said his Ministry through the LAP had provided funds for the development of a National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF) for the entire country, which would provide the spatial framework for the development of the country for the next 20 years (2015-2035).

LAP has also supported the completion of a new land use and planning bill which is currently before cabinet for consideration, he disclosed.

The Minister stressed the need for an efficient land management and administration system, to improve investor-confidence, and provide greater security of tenure to all users and occupants of land.

“There must also be an aggressive push to address issues of landlessness, while improving access to land for housing among low income groups to achieve the long-term economic goal of government to develop an agriculture and industry driven economy,” he added.

Nii Osah said this called for some institutional reforms and re-engineering of the business processes of the leading land sector agencies and the provision of modern infrastructure was critical to achieve this.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu reminded stakeholders in the land sector to address challenges facing the sector, which include poor records keeping, multiple sale of lands, lands litigation and boundary disputes and lack of access.

He called for attitudinal change among land sector workers, and said the provision of infrastructure alone could not fix the challenges in the land sector.

He advised the contractor to meet stipulated deadline for the project.

Mr Peter Anaafi Mensah, the Regional Minister, commended the Asantehene for his readiness in releasing land for this project, and applauded the Ministry of Lands and Resources for securing funds for the project.