The Government of Czech Republic is working assiduously to complete 12 new hospitals by the end of 2023 in Ghana, Mr Martin Tlapa, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic, has said.
MrTlapa said that Czech Republic had so far, constructed 25 hospitals in Ghana, between 2008 and 2018.
He said the completion of the 12 new hospitals, would bring the total number of hospitals funded and constructed by Czech Republic to 37 and that similar projects would be executed in Ghana in future.
He said the hospitals were being constructed in rural communities to help improve access to good quality health to the people.
MrTlapa was speaking to the Ghanaian Times in Accra, last Friday,during his two days working visit in Ghana.
He said as part of Czech’s commitment to improve good quality healthcare in Ghana, the government sent medial doctors to Ghana to conduct surgeries free of charge to persons who could not pay for emergent medical needs.
MrTlapa said investment in health infrastructure could help address emergencies and pandemics, especially the COVID-19 pandemic which was wreaking havoc across the world.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic commended Ghana’s effort at handling the COVID-19 pandemic, and urged other African countries to emulate Ghana’s example.
In addition to building hospitals, MrTlapa stated that Czech Republic was constructing 50 bridges which would be completed and handed over to the Ministry of Roads and Highways in March 2023.
For his part,the Project Manager for Knights Ghana Limited, the subsidiary company of Knights a.s of the Czech Republic, Mr Solomon Andoh, said the projects were at various stages of completion in Accra, Eastern, Ashanti, Western and Central regions to ease traffic.
He said residents and school pupils at Weija, where a bridge is being built would no longer pay GH¢4.00 to cross the river when commuting to work and school when the bridge is completed.
In 2007, Knights a.s. of the Czech Republic signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Transport to provide the government of Ghana with 200 Composite Modular Steel Bridges ranging from 20metre span to 50metre span.
In April 2019, Knights a.s. finally signed the Contract Agreement with the Ministry of Roads and Highways for 50 bridges being the first tranche of the 200 bridges to be executed.
On the same day, a Czech Republic bank, CeskoslovenskaObchodnibanka, a.s. signed the loan agreement for the project with the Ministry of Finance.
Work on the various bridge projects started in June 2020 and is scheduled to be completed this year.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
