By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, Sept.08, GNA – VoltagreenCT Development Company, a US-based Ghanaian firm, has announced plans to undertake a smart- city project as part of efforts to accelerate growth and development in Ghana.
Dubbed: ‘VOLTAGREENCT Project,” the over $10billion 10-year initiative, is aimed at addressing the housing deficits by building an eco-friendly smart city, powered by green energy through solar systems in the Volta Region.
The first phase of the project, which is a collaboration between some foreign and local partners, is expected to be launched at Mafi-Anfoe, a community in the Central Tongu District of the Volta region on September 16, this year.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, in Takoradi, Mr Nii Okai Parbey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VoltagreenCT Development Company, said with support from the Chiefs and people of Mafi-Anfoe, they had acquired about a 30,000-acre land in the community where they plan to develop the site into a modern and smart city as part of efforts to develop the region.
He said they would build modern affordable homes, state of the art hospitals, recreational facilities, banks, schools, and shopping centres among others.
He said the Volta region was strategically chosen for the project because of its status as a key tourism hub in Ghana with its strategic location playing a significant role in facilitating trade and commerce across the West African sub-region.
Mr Parbey said the project would transform the proposed site into an internationally competitive tourism destination, through harnessing the monumental, historical, and cultural heritage of the Volta region to advance eco-tourism in the area.
He said highlights of the city would be anchored on advanced infrastructure, uninterrupted electricity energy source, clean water, underground drainage, solar farms, construction of first-class roads, among other facilities that would make the place a modern city.
“Our aspirations go beyond housing and energy because the project is also an engine of economic growth that will generate high paying jobs and provide training to equip our local workforce with the skills needed to thrive.
“Our mission is deeply rooted in addressing the critical challenges of job shortages and housing affordability issues in Ghana,” the VoltagreenCT Development Company CEO added.
Mrs Christina Coffie, Head of Investor Relations at VoltagreenCT Development Company, also told the GNA that her outfit’s mission was to build a thoughtfully designed homes that would accommodate all segments of society from affordable housing to luxurious abodes.
She said aside from opening green spaces in the project’s implementing area, the smart city would become an economic free zone area where it would attract more investors for businesses.
She, therefore, called for support from foreign and local investors and those in the Diaspora to join resources to make the dream a reality.
GNA