Work on 188 lockable stores for Agomanya market begins

Construction work on a modern market for the Agomanya market in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region under the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program (GSCSP), is scheduled to begin in earnest.

The project under the GSCSP is part of the Government's broader urban development and decentralization program and forms part of the World Bank’s support to the Assembly which qualified for a share of the $ 100m facility as one of the best-performing Assemblies in the country.

The project which was designed and is being coordinated and supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in collaboration with the World Bank through the Local Municipal Assembly would take six months to complete.

The project to be undertaken by Hawkrad Construction Limited and Win-Meg Ventures constructing 82 and 106 stores respectively, would have 188 lockable stores and all modern facilities when completed in six months.

Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area, Simon Kweku Tetteh speaking at a commencement and site possession meeting on Thursday, July 9, 2020, at the municipal assembly hall said the assembly having been named as one of four districts in the Eastern Region to benefit from the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program (GSCSP) found it prudent to invest the facility in giving the market a facelift.

The Assembly Chief who attributed the success of the GSCSP to the management, technical team and staff of the Assembly for their hard work and cooperation, said giving the market the necessary facelift will rake in a lot of revenue for the assembly and expressed hope that the project would develop and improve the local economy.

He called on the residents to support the Assembly to execute more development projects in the Municipality and urged contractors to complete the project within the stipulated period.

The MCE said some traders were relocated to other parts of the market to pave way for the execution of the project, adding that the stores upon completion would be allocated to those who were displaced and an understanding had been reached with stakeholders to avoid issues of allocation difficulties.

Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Samuel Nuettey Ayertey expressed his profound gratitude to the market women and traders for their cooperation towards the execution of the project as well as to stakeholders for the necessary support.

He said Lower Manya Krobo was lucky to have benefitted from the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program, especially as a native of the area with the project expected to generate a lot of revenue for the assembly.

He encouraged the consultant, Mr. Francis Arthur, and his Firm, Soma Consult to monitor the project religiously to ensure that only quality materials are used for the best work output.

Principal Consultant for Soma Consult, consultants for the project, Mr. Francis Arthur charged the contractors to ensure that the project meets the required standards and ensures that work is completed on schedule.

He equally charged them to ensure safety at the project site at all times to safeguard workers and other visitors to the site.

The consultant however urged that contractors are paid promptly to ensure the smooth execution of the project.

Market queen for the Agomanya market, Manye Sussane Kpabitey expressed gratitude to the government and the Assembly for the project, which would bring a face-lift to the market and urged the contractors to fast track the construction process.

She said the stores, aside from improving on trading activities in the area would also end the age-old difficulties of space allocations at the market, adding that the stores would significantly help them in their activities.
Present at the meeting were some assembly members, constituency executives of the New Patriotic Party, the media, and opinion leaders.