AMA secures $750 million Chinese grant for projects
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has secured a $750 million grant from the City of Schenzhen, China, to begin the implementation of some development projects in the Accra Metropolis.
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The grant formed part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two cities to stimulate economic cooperation and contacts in the areas of business and trade, Information and Communication Technology, energy, port services, education, arts and culture.
Disbursement
Out of the amount, $150 million would be used to build a solar energy power plant with the capacity of 100 megawatts, while $100 million will be invested in the construction of a factory for the manufacture of food products. The rest of the funds would be used to construct markets and a 500 million square-metre logistics park in the free zone area of Accra.
All the projects would be implemented by Sacher Investment Company Limited, a limited liability company based in Ghana.
Importance
This was the outcome of a visit to Schenzhen by a delegation of AMA officials led by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpujie.
Briefing the media on the details of the MoU in Accra, Mr Vanderpujie described the grant as an investment that would create a lot of job opportunities within the metropolis.
For instance, he said, the construction of the storage facilities would ensure the processing of more food for export.
“This will enhance the economic outlook of the city at large while creating volumes of jobs for the youth of Accra and its surrounding areas,” the chief executive further indicated.
Besides China, Dr Vanderpujie said, a 25-member delegation from the assembly and its business partners also had a series of engagements with the City of Newark, New Jersey in the United States of America (USA) to expose members to best practices there and also facilitate the development of joint ventures and exchanges in the areas of industry and commerce, among others.
Support
The chief executive called for effective collaboration between the assembly and its stakeholders such as traditional leaders, since they were key to the successful execution of the projects.
“We need land with clear land titles to utilise for these projects. We cannot have land where there is a dispute,” he stated.
Schenzhen
Shenzhen is a major financial centre in southern China. The city is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies and also has one of the busiest container ports in the world.