EPA holds public hearing on proposed Takoradi mall
The Sekondi-Takoradi office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has held a public hearing on a proposed shopping mall complex to be established in Takoradi.
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The mall, estimated at US$65 million, is the product of a partnership between Western Development Consortium Limited (WDCL) of Ghana and Westport Properties Limited (WPL) of South Africa and would be managed by Takoradi Mall Limited (TML).
The shopping centre, to be known as the ‘Takoradi Mall,’ will be built on a land area approximately 21 acres in size and located in the eastern portion of Tanokrom close to the central business district of the city.
One-stop shopping experience
The proposed mall will provide a 'one-stop' shopping experience for shoppers in the fast growing metropolis and places as far as Tarkwa and Elubo.
The mall will comprise of a shopping centre, banks, restaurants, parking lots capable of accommodating 705 vehicles, a refuse collection area, installed automated teller machines (ATMs) and management centre. The mall will also have a stand-by generator to be used in the event of power cuts.
Potable water, electricity, accessible road network, drainage systems, a sewage treatment facility and an aesthetically designed landscape will also be provided.
Environmental assessment
The well-attended public hearing provided an opportunity for the concerns that the public had towards the project to be addressed.
In a presentation, Prof. Roger Eshun, a lecturer at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), explained that the meeting was to provide a forum for all relevant stakeholders to be appraised of the outcome of the environmental assessment on the mall project.
He said it was also to affirm that all parties and stakeholders had been adequately consulted and were a part of various decision-making processes.
He indicated that a wide range of consultations had been held with stakeholders such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Town and Country Planning Authority (TCPA), the Ghana National Association of Garages, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and adjoining communities.
Attendance
In attendance at the meeting were the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Alfred Ekow Gyan, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Capt Anthony Cudjoe; the Vice President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Nana Kwasi Agyeman IX; Members of Parliament and assembly members, among other stakeholders.
The Western Regional Director of the EPA, Mr Yaw Sarfo-Afriyie, in his welcome address, said all key stakeholders would once again be consulted at the operational phase of the project so that “we work towards attaining the goal of having sustainable development that would ensure a brighter future for all.”