The Ministry of Works and Housing has announced that it will conduct a thorough financial and technical background check on bidders for the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.
To this end, the Ministry has initiated a process to contract an independent evaluation entity, to be approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), to carry out this task on its behalf.
The independent evaluation entity will scrutinize the financial records of the bidding companies, including their assets, liabilities, and credit history, and submit their report to the Ministry.
This move is aimed at preventing a repeat of the project’s previous failures, which were largely attributed to financial mismanagement.
Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, revealed this on Wednesday, June 19, 2024 when he shared an update on the government’s request for private proposals for the completion and operationalisation of the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project with the Parliamentary Press Corps.
According to the Minister, the report by the independent evaluation entity will guide the selection of one of the bidders or a consortium of bidders for the completion of the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.
The Ministry expects to receive bids from private developers on July 8th, 2024 and will hand them over to the independent evaluation entity for scrutiny.
The selected developer will be expected to demonstrate a strong technical and financial foundation to undertake the project, which is estimated to require an additional $100 million to complete.
So far, $200 million has been spent on the project, which has resulted in the partial completion of 1,506 units. The additional funding will be used to complete the remaining works, including water, electricity and sewage systems.
Ten private local and international bidders have expressed interest in completing the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project, which marks a significant milestone in the revival of the stalled project launched in 2012 to provide 5,000 housing units.
The Ministry’s move to invite private developers to complete the project is seen as a strategic step to address the country’s housing deficit, and the project’s revival is expected to bring relief to many low-income families struggling to access affordable housing.
Additionally, the Ministry has directed the State Housing Company to contract an entity to re-award another housing project initiated by former President Kufuor in Koforidua for completion. The Ministry is also in the process of breaking ground for about 800 housing units.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi
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