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On Friday, President Nana Akufo-Addo laid the groundwork for the launch of the work of the second phase of the project at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), in Ho, in the Volta region.
The first phase of the university project was funded by the Chinese government through its development agency, China AID, at a cost of 104,850,000 RMB (Chinese yuan), equivalent to some $ 16 million.
The facilities present in the establishment include an administrative block, classrooms, library, laboratory, auditorium, student activity center and cafeteria for the School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences.
Recall that phase I of the project, which covers a total construction area of 10,386 square meters, was completed and handed over to the University about five years ago.
According to the president, the government recognizes that the university still needs additional infrastructure projects to effectively fulfill its mandate despite all the facilities present.
He explained that it is for this reason that the education and finance ministers worked in unison with the university leadership to secure funding from the Chinese government to the tune of $ 60 million to start. of the second phase of the expansion projects.
He said Phase II of the project will also host the university’s central administration and the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM), Africa’s largest, once completed.
President Akufo-Addo told the assembly that, to demonstrate the government’s commitment to the project, the government has made available matching funding of 6.2 million yen for preliminary works to cover the extension of electricity, municipal water supply, construction of rainwater and wastewater collectors, and all ancillary services necessary for the implementation of the project.
He congratulated the Minister of Education and the Vice-Chancellor for their efforts in bringing the project to fruition and congratulated the Vice-Chancellor on the renewal of his mandate.
Commending the leadership of the University for building state-of-the-art student hostels from internally generated funds, the President assured the University that his administration would not renege on its commitment to help the University provide a quality education. quality to its students.
Genesis of the Phase II project
Preparatory work for the construction of the China Phase II project began at the request of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Gyapong, in 2017, and was “blessed” by the signing of an exchange of notes between the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana on January 11, 2019.
This paved the way for the start of preliminary work on the project, with a delegation from China visiting the University in March 2019 for a reconnaissance study of the proposed site and conducted feasibility studies on the proposed project.
In June 2019, the design team of China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. (CUCD), the Chinese government consultants, visited the university with preliminary sketches for discussion with user departments.
After extensive deliberation with the technical staff of the University, revisions were made to certain aspects of the sketch drawings based on lessons learned from the execution of the Phase I project.
In July 2019, another team of Chinese experts visited the proposed project site and conducted a site survey and geotechnical surveys to help complete the designs.
Subsequently, the technical team of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, led by the Vice Chancellor, met with the Chinese consultants in October 2019 to review the preliminary designs, agree on changes and approve the implementation. .
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