Government has announced that it will soon cede most of the infrastructure projects in the country on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis to build the capacity of Ghanaian enterprises and enhance value for money.
Currently, the PPP bill is before parliament expected to be passed when parliament resumes from recess to allow government roll out PPP projects prepared down.
Speaking to Citi Business News, the Minister of State in charge of Private Sector Development and PPP, Dr. Abdul –Rashid Pelpuo disclosed that government has lined up a number of proposals to be undertaken on PPP basis, hence its commitment to get the bill passed when parliament resumes.
“There is a proposal to do a dual carriage from Accra to Takoradi and then from Accra to Kumasi, all will be PPP projects,” he said.
He stated that the challenge with PPP is that it requires accurate feasibility study and assessment before it can be implemented to enhance value for money.
“The difficulty about PPP projects is that you need to prepare the projects. That means that you need to do feasibility, you need to know the cost of it before you can give them out on PPP,” he stressed.
Citing some projects lined up, Dr. Pelpuo mentioned that preparations for the Bonkra Inland Port and the railway lines to the Western corridor are completed.
“You’ve seen the Teshie-Nungua water project. It’s a good example of a PPP project. That is the way we want to go. All major infrastructure projects will be on PPP basis”
He stated that government will soon enter an agreement to expand the railway networks in the country through the Bonkra Inland Port to Kumasi and the regions in the north.
“You know these projects are capital intensive. The best way we can get it done and maintain value for money is to involve the PPP module. This is why government has lined up a number of projects on that module,” he said.
He pointed out that the Tema Motorway expansion project which is scheduled to commence soon was also designed on PPP basis to include expansion works at the Tema Harbor.
“The Tema Motorway is an integrated project that has to do with the expansion of the Tema harbor so that at the end of the project which is a PPP; there will be in the end a dual carriage road from the harbor to the Motorway,” he said.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana