A new maternity block being constructed for the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi is progressing after it has been established that an uncompleted one abandoned for 45 years had become weak.

The old block is currently being pulled down concurrently with the construction of the new one.

The new six-storey structure is expected to be ready in three years.

Based on the new design, the block will reduce its bed capacity from the original 750 to 500, and would cost €138.5 million.

Working visit

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei Mensah, and the Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, accompanied by officials of Contracta, the Brazilian firm constructing the facility; the Chief Executive of KATH, Dr Oheneba Owusu-Danso, and the Director of Urban Roads, KMA, Nana Poku Agyeman, conducted journalists round the building site Thursday, July 22, as part of a working visit to access some ongoing projects in the metropolis.

The team also inspected work on the phase II of the Race Course Market, where shops had been allocated for traders who were evacuated from the Central Market.

They later inspected the ongoing Kofrom Market, as well as the phase II of the ongoing Kumasi International Airport, said to be 85 per cent complete and expected to be completed by end of this year.

“So far, I am impressed with the progress made on all the projects,” Mr Osei Mensah told the media after the tour.

Impressive work

At KATH, the minister commended the project contractors for the “impressive work done on the maternity block”.

He emphasised that the decision to demolish the building followed a comprehensive risk assessment undertaken by relevant engineering companies, including Architectural and Engineering Services Limited, and urged the general public to exercise restraint while the government put in place adequate measures to guarantee proper maternal healthcare delivery.

“This will be a state-of-the-art, modern health edifice, with paediatrics, gynaecology and obstetrics units,” he noted.

“It will also house an intensive care unit, a high dependency unit, isolation rooms and student lecture halls, with the capacity to provide catering services for staff, patients and students,” he added.

Dr Owusu-Danso hinted that negotiations were ongoing to relocate residents within the proximity of the construction site — particularly on the premises of the Ghana Armed Forces adjacent the under-construction block — to avoid the risk of an accident as it rises to higher floors.

Background

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, cut the sod for the reconstruction of the 44-year-old Maternity and Children’s Block of the KATH on May 15, 2020.

The project, being funded by the Deutsche Bank of Germany, is expected to be completed within 36 months.

The old maternity block was started by former Head of State, General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, in 1976, but was abandoned midway after his overthrow for lack of funding.

The structure has gone through various enhancements over the years but could not be completed.