Nana Gets £326m From UK

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Prince William welcoming PresidentAkufo-Addo at the Summit in London

Ghana
is set to draw 326 million pounds sterling from the coffers of the British
government for major infrastructural developments across the country.

One
of the beneficiary projects of the investment funds is a £120 million export
contract which would see the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital upgraded.

 A £40 million Contracta Construction UK deal
has been penciled under the investment deal for the new Kumasi Airport, as well
as a £60 million funding for a new 250-bed capacity hospital in Koforidua.

Other projects include the Tema Aflao road project worth £80 million, as well as a £26 million Aqua Africa export contract for the supply of solar-powered water filtration systems in Ghana.

Investment Package

The
deals were announced as part of a major investment package for some African
countries during the just-ended UK-Africa Investment Summit of which President
Akufo-Addo was a participant.

UK,
through the summit, is actively looking to form a strong trading and investment
relationship with African nations, which would hopefully benefit businesses on
both continents for years to come.

Selected
African countries are slated to benefit from the 27 deals worth over £6.5 billion.

It
has emerged that the two countries — Ghana and the UK
— have resolved to deepen the bilateral
relations that exist between them during a separate engagement between
President Akufo-Addo and his host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the
sidelines of the summit.

Afro Nation

A
major highlight of the maiden UK-Africa Summit was the five-year Africa
exclusive events deal for Ghana to host Afro Nation annually.

This
deal was signed in the presence of President Akufo-Addo between the Ghana
Tourism Authority and Event Horizon Entertainment Ltd, operators of Afro
Nation, “whereby Ghana would host Afro Nation in Africa exclusively on an
annual basis for the next five years.”

The
deal means investors, entrepreneurs, and small and medium size businesses have
at least a five-year investment plan to focus on to exploit the anticipated
annual Christmas traffic.

UK & Ghana

UK
and Ghana have also resolved to explore areas of interest which will inure to
the mutual benefit of the two countries and their respective populations.

President
Akufo-Addo expressed his appreciation to the British government for its
willingness to work with Ghana on the basis of trade and investment
co-operation, and move away from the traditional aid-based relationship.

The
President told his British counterpart that, over the course of the past three
years, his government had worked hard to put Ghana’s economy back on track, and
had succeeded in creating a business-friendly environment that had led to Ghana
becoming the largest source of foreign-direct investment in West Africa.

“It
is an exciting time to be in Ghana and to do business in the country. The
prospects for Ghana’s and, indeed, Africa’s development in the 21st century are
immense. British participation in that development would be very welcome,” he
added.

UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the excellent relations existing between
Ghana and the United Kingdom, and praised his Ghanaian counterpart for the work
done in growing Ghana’s economy, and for making it one of the fastest growing
economies in the world.

He touted the UK as the “ultimate one-stop shop for trade, education and tech”, adding that “look around the world today and you will swiftly see that the UK is not only the obvious partner of choice, but we’re also very much the partner of today, of tomorrow and decades to come.”

By A.R. Gomda