The handing-over will pave the way for some market women at the Central Market and its environs to be relocated to Kejetia in order to create space at the Central Market and allow for work on the second phase of the three-phase project to begin.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government, Mr Kennedy Osei Nyarko, said this when he briefed the media in Kumasi after the committee inspected work on the Kejetia project and held a closed-door meeting with the contractors and officials of the KMA.

Project

The first phase of the project, which involved the reconstruction of the Kejetia Market, began in 2015. The second and third phases entail the renovation of the Central Market, which is to be done in two parts.

With regards to impediments that had delayed the project for almost a year, Mr Nyarko said there were four structures that were sitting on areas demarcated for drainage and roads. There were also others that blocked the front view of the project, which needed to be dealt with.

“The select committee, together with the KMA, has arrived at a decision on buildings to the effect that they will be demolished and compensation paid through a scheme that will not lead to an extra financial burden on the government. The scheme will be run by the private sector through a public-private partnership arrangement,” he stated.

Kejetia

At the Kejetia Redevelopment Project site, members of the select committee and assembly members toured various portions of the 8,300 selling points in the market.

The market also has police stations, banks, two sewage treatment plants, a day nursery among other facilities.

KMA

The Chief Executive of the KMA, Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, described the visit by the select committee as timely.

He said the visit had afforded members of the assembly, who approved the loans for the project, to ascertain the progress of work and understand challenges the project was facing in order to address them.

Mr Assibey-Antwi assured traders at Kejetia that they would all be given shops, while those who would be moved from the Central Market would also be given space to ply their trade.

Nii

The Ranking Member for the Select Committee, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, explained that the demolition of the four buildings inhibiting the progress of work on site were not factored into the project forecast.

“The KMA will go into negotiations with a private developer to take over the area concerned, demolish the four buildings, pay compensation and develop the section into a modern car park through a public-private partnership,” he said.