• The initial plan was to build 88 district hospitals, which idea found a place in the NPP’s 2020 manifesto
• The whole idea is also a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, cut sod for the commencement of the Agenda 111 project, i.e. the construction of some over 100 district hospitals and other major health facilities across the country.
In his address at the launch, president Akufo-Addo mentioned a number of figures relative to the rollout of the project, from the cost of the project, the estimated number of jobs, contractors and period of completion.
GhanaWeb looks at the major figures and their significance on the entire project.
US$16.88 million – Unit cost of a district hospital
Each district hospital will cost a total of US$16.88 million, that is US$12.88 million for construction and US$4 million for medical equipment.
18 months - Period of completion
An 18 month completion period has been announced per each project. According to Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, civil works are expected to take 12 months before the remaining six-months goes into other works.
25,000 - Number of jobs
A total of 25,000 Ghanaians will be employed for the construction and design phase. The workers to be employed include architects, engineers, masons, carpenters, painters, and other professionals.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his address at the sod cutting spoke about the impact in terms of direct and indirect jobs.
“The strategy of direct and indirect job openings to stimulate the economy of various communities which the facilities are to be created.
"These include the creation of an estimated 25,000 jobs during the construction and design phase. i.e., jobs for architects, civil mechanical and electrical and biomedical engineers, quantity surveyors, masons, carpenters, welders, steel benders, painters, tailors, and related professionals and artisans as well as other indirect jobs.”
20 - Number of contractors
According to President Akufo-Addo, the design of the project was done by 20 Ghanaian consulting firms.
"20 Ghanaian consulting firms made up of architects, civil structural, electrical and mechanical engineers, quantity surveyors, bio-medical engineers and other technical teams have designed all these hospitals to reflect our unique domestic requirements including the impact of climate, socio-cultural conditions and traditional practices," he said.
101 - Number of district hospitals to be built
The project is dubbed Agenda 111 but actually includes 101 district hospitals which is the first phase that has been started with the August 17 kick off.
Subsequently, sod will be cut for six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised hospitals in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
Akufo-Addo cut sod for the Agenda 111 Project on August 17