Parliament has approved a loan facility of €101,760,002 to finance the design and construction of a drainage and ancillary sewage system in Nima, between Kawukudi to the Odaw River Basin in Accra.

The amount is made up of a term loan facility agreement between the government of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance) and Standard Chartered Bank, London, backed by Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF) by up to €91,375,307 and a commercial facility of up to €10,384,695.

The project, when completed, is expected to mitigate perennial flooding in the area by enhancing access to solid waste collection and drainage management services which are currently limited; a situation that contributes to blockage of drains and results in flooding.

The project entails a subterranean drainage system that will also improve environmental and sanitary conditions in the Nima community and its surrounding areas, as well as provide the community with public spaces that serve diverse needs of residents.

The 24-month projected duration of the project will cover work to be undertaken on the already existing Nima drain in the Accra Metropolitan Area.

Contributing to the motion in the House, Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei clarified that even though the total financing amount for the entire project is €101,760,002, there actual project cost is only €90,000,000 with the remainder serving as a premium. “The two facilities amounting to €101,760,002 is the request. The contract value, however, is €90,000,000 – a difference of €11million is the EKF premium that is typical of such loans,” he stated.

Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta Akyea – in his submission to also support the motion, justified government’s decision to invest huge sums of money in certain infrastructural projects such as the construction of subterranean drains which are expensive to build, adding that it is a sure way of addressing the recurrent flooding situations that the city faces.

“Every year, serious amounts of monies are released for us to do desilting and concrete lining, and what I would call palliatives; they do not solve the problems. Subterranean drains are the way to go. This is the first major intervention in which government has seen the necessity to do subterranean drains. We are going to see for the first time serious drains with a lot of sewage underground to make for a neat environment,” he said.

The Nima drainage project, when completed, will also feature the construction of enhancement facilities such as bike and walkways, green areas, shade areas, and rest and play areas.