By Isaac Arkoh
Cape Coast, Nov. 20, GNA – Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Works and Housing has commissioned and inspected major coastline redevelopment projects along the 168 kilometres of the Coastal stretch in the Central Region.
The execution of the Coastal Protection Project is geared towards safeguarding beaches and their surroundings from the encroachment of the sea, halting environmental degradation and alleviating the adverse social and economic impacts of beach erosion.
The completed projects include a five-kilometre Anomabo sea defence project phase I, comprising a rocky outlay, drawings, and revetment to combat tidal wave devastation in the area.
The Minister and entourage also inspected a 3.4-kilometre Phase II of the project that is currently in progress and being carried out by Q3 Company Limited, a wholly Ghanaian-owned construction firm.
The project is set to run for 28 months and aims to shield affected communities such as Agyaa number One, Two, and Three, Kormantse, Abandze and Biriwa.
At Ekon, a suburb of Cape Coast, the Minister initiated a ground-breaking ceremony for a five-kilometre sea defence project, which is part of a series of eight coastal protection projects initiated by the government in 2017.
Managed by Vulux Engineering Limited, the project which had excited many residents encompasses breakaway construction, armour rock revetments, armour rock groynes, and land reclamation.
Intended to safeguard 5,000 meters of coastline, the project aims to connect safeguard fisheries resources in communities like Moree in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District, where more than 300 houses and hundreds of coconut trees have fallen victim to destruction.
The Minister again in Elmina within the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality, pledged the dredging of the Benya Lagoon and commissioned a five-kilometre Elmina Coastal Protection project that has shielded many homes.
The project that had brightened the historic city of Elmina consists of armour rock revetments protecting key installations such as the roads and historical structures such as the Elmina Castle, $85 million Elmina Harbour, and $7 million fish processing plant.
Managed by Vulux Engineering, the engineering display includes granular filter layers, armour rock groynes and land reclamation with lateritic backfilling to safeguard a 5,000-metre coastal stretch.
Rounding up the tour, in Komenda, the Minister commissioned a five-kilometre Komenda Coastal Protection project, which included a hundred-meter bridge connecting British and Dutch Komenda, which had been abandoned for over five decades.
The project features aesthetically pleasing jetties, fish landing sites and a fish market with storage facilities.
During separate durbars in the beneficiary communities, Mr Nkrumah said many segments of Ghana’s 550-kilometre coastal line required some form of protection against the sea, consequently, the Government initiated its Coastal Protection Programme in 2017 to safeguard coastal towns.
He said the project was carefully designed to protect lives and properties and aid in the restoration of fishing and other businesses that have been adversely affected by coastal waves.
He said the completed projects have enhanced the aesthetic appeal and hygienic standards at the beaches, while bolstering the resilience and protective capacity of the area.
Mr Nkrumah assured that the Government would endeavour to ensure the protection of all coastal communities and reiterated its dedication to providing financial support for the implementation of projects in communities requiring urgent protective infrastructure.
He urged the communities to take ownership of the projects, safeguard them and preserve their integrity to fulfil their intended purposes.
Various traditional leaders, residents and particularly fisher folks expressed gratitude to the government for the support and appealed for further assistance to enhance their livelihoods.
GNA