The Deputy
Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Mr. John Allotey, has said
construction of the US$1.2billion Accra Eco-Park project, expected to take-off
this year, will dramatically improve the Achimota Forest, curtail encroachment
and eliminate the domestic and industrial waste being dumped in the area.
Completion
of the eco-park project will position the enclave as one of the leading
world-class recreational facilities and major tourism destinations in West
Africa.
This was
made known in Accra during an end of year interaction with the media by top
executives of the Commission. It was aimed at deepening the Commission’s
relationship with its media partners in the ensuing years.
Mr. Allotey
explained that the Forestry Commission is currently reviewing the terms for
construction of the Eco-Park project with the investor, and that the decision is
part of due diligence it is carrying out to ensure the project is executed and
not abandoned mid-way.
Mr. Allotey
explained that a special committee has been formed to quickly implement the
agreement with the private investor.
“The Chief
Executive has formed a committee to see how quickly we can start implementing
the agreement. The committee has done some work and presented it. We have
reviewed it and presented it to the minister. We are trying to find out which
areas need to be looked at by the partner/investor.”
Answering
questions about the project’s development, Mr. Allotey disclosed that the
Commission has engaged the investor and is trying to do everything possible to
ensure the project takes off this year.
“We have
engaged the investor, trying to find out which areas we can move quickly. We
have not thought of changing the investor; we don’t have any problem with the
investor, we are not changing the company. What we are looking at are the
things that need to be done to let the project be executed as soon as possible.
“We have to
look at what the investor has presented to us to ensure that everything is
right. It is not only the bricks and mortar or clearing the forest that is the
work. A lot more goes into it, so that when we start we know we are on a good
footing and not going to stop,” he said.
The sod-cutting
ceremony of the Accra Eco-Park Project was performed on August 19, 2016 to
allow for commencement of the project construction.
Aikan
Capital Limited won the bid to execute the project, and is investing
approximately US$1.2billion it. The lease agreement allows Aikan Capital to
design, build and operate the facility for 10 years.
The first
phase of the Eco-Park Project, the city’s only green belt, was expected to be
completed in 24 months and add to the country’s major national parks -
including Kakum in the Central Region and Mole in the Northern Region.
The project
involves construction of amusement parks, orchards, an arboretum, wildlife
safaris, museums, eco-commercial enclaves and eco-lodges - but with as little
disruption to the natural vegetation as possible.
It will
also have a spiritual enclave to cater for the spiritual/worship activities which
bring more than 180,000 people annually to the Achimota Forest.
Apart from
the recreational facilities, the development partners have plans for conference
rooms with high-seating capacities targetted at corporate bodies. They will be
sited outside the main forest area.
Available
data from the Forestry Commission envisages that the Eco-Park project will
create about 4,000 jobs during the construction phase, and 2,000 direct and
10,000 indirect jobs when it begins to function.
The
Achimota Forest Reserve was gazetted (as a forest reserve) in 1939, with
objectives including serving as a field laboratory research for schools in
Accra; providing a place for recreation; conserving biological diversity; as
well as playing the ecological role of purifying the air in the city.
However,
years of unbridled encroachment has reduced the size of the forest from its
original 495 hectares to 355 hectares and portions have been turned into waste
disposal sites.
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