The Vice President says Kwesi -Arthur has stated that he’s impressed with the progress of work on the 650-bed University of Ghana Teaching Hospital, built at a cost of 217 million dollars.
Government is expected to take over the completed works next month. Mr. Amissah described the super tertiary teaching hospital as unique and hinted that government in the near future will put up a similar facility in the northern sector of the country.
This came to light when the Vice President paid a working visit to the New University of Ghana Teaching Hospital.
The project coordinator Prof. Aaron Lawson accompanied by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ebenezer Owusu Oduro, took the Vice President round the teaching hospital.
Authorities at the University of Ghana confirmed to the press that the University of Ghana Teaching Hospital is being financed by the Government of Ghana through a 217 million dollar loan facility secured from Israel.
Prof. Aaron Lawson said that government has also secured an additional 48 million dollars for the second phase of the project for additional 400 beds. He said the University has demonstrated the capacity to pay back the loan to government.
As part of the project, a number of Ghanaian health professionals have undergone training at the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel.
They are expected to constitute a critical mass of staff to be engaged when the teaching hospital commences operations.
He announced that more than two thousand people will be engaged to work in the facility when the second phase is completed.
The University of Ghana Teaching Hospital Project which has been on the drawing board for decades commenced on 12th March, 2011 with sod cutting ceremony by the late President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills.
That same year, government solicited a loan facility from a bank in Israel for the design, construction and installation of medical equipment for a 617- bed Hospital facility for the University of Ghana.
The main contractor is Messers Engineering and Development Consultants Limited of Israel, with Sheba Medical Centre, also in Israel, as the medical consultants. Cabinet and Parliamentary approvals were granted in June and July 2011 respectively.
Following a value for money audit process, the commercial contract was signed in November 2012.
Source: Maxwell Okamafo Addo/ email: [email protected]
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