Ghana explores alternative financing to complete stalled Takoradi Market Circle project
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Local Government Minister Mahama Ayariga says the government is working on a new financing framework, including pre-renting market spaces, after an Italian export credit facility was cancelled.
Ghana's government is exploring alternative financing strategies to complete the stalled Takoradi Market Circle Redevelopment Project after the cancellation of an outstanding export credit facility.
Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga said the loan, initially provided through an export credit from Deutsche Bank S.p.A Italy with support from Italian export credit agency SACE, was cancelled and had stalled progress on the project. He said the Finance Minister had tasked him with developing an alternative financing framework to ensure the project is completed.
Speaking after touring the site in Sekondi-Takoradi to assess work done so far, Ayariga said part of the new mechanism involves pre-renting out spaces in the market to mobilise the funds needed to finish the development, which he described as far advanced.
He said the ministry, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the contractors are in discussions and will return to the Ministry of Finance to conclude how to collect payments from those who want spaces in the market. Banks will be engaged to collect the money and handle the allocation of stores, he said, to ensure fairness.
Ayariga said the government is negotiating with the contractors to bring them back on site and hopes the project can be finished within a year. "I want to assure the people of Sekondi-Takoradi and Western Region in general that we will complete the project," he said.