Deputy Lands Minister asks firms interested in Apiate redevelopment to bid

Construction companies interested in designing and working on the Apiate redevelopment project have been asked to submit their bids.

Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio, who disclosed this said the bidding process would commence with the formal selection of contractor to undertake the process.

He was speaking at Apiate when he led members of the Apiate Reconstruction Implementation Committee to undertake final inspection of work on temporal structures to accommodate affected residents of the fatal explosion which occurred in January this year.

Mr Owusu-Bio, who is also the Chairman of the Committee, noted that work on the temporal accommodation facilities was 98 per cent complete.

He said the remaining work to be done would be completed before the May 1 deadline earlier projected by the Committee.

“We are right on schedule as the temporal structures earmarked for the resettlement of the explosion victims are 98 per cent completed for relocation,” he mentioned.

Although the planned 32 rooms to shelter the victims were ready, Mr Owusu-Bio said the residents would relocate to the temporal structures on May 4.

“While work was done on the other two per cent, we have decided to reschedule the relocation for May 4 due to the impending holiday festivities,” he stated.

He indicated that the Ministry of Roads and Highways would commence layouts of the road networks for the new Apiate community, adding that the work on the roads would be done simultaneously with the bidding process.

He expressed hope that by the time the road networks were completed, the Committee would also be ready to award the reconstruction contract for work to begin as scheduled.

Having completed the work on the temporal structures, Mr Owusu-Bio said the Committee would now focus entirely on the main reconstruction works.

“As works are completed here, it will give us the time we need to now focus on the main work at the Appiatse site itself."

"I am particularly happy to see the people from the community already cleaning up the completed rooms for moving which only tells that they are equally happy and impressed with the work done here,” he stated.

The Deputy Minister noted that the government was also in talks with partners and stakeholders, including the Ghana Water Company Limited, Electricity Company of Ghana, Vodafone Foundation, among others, to commence part of the project.

He commended the affected residents for supporting workers on the site, adding that the government would continue to work towards ensuring that normalcy was returned to the community.

Maame Adwoa, one of the residents, expressed appreciation to the government for sticking to the timelines given, saying that they look forward to the relocation to shelter them from the wrath of rains.