Western Regional Minister warns Amenfi Central 24-Hour Market contractor over delays

Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson has warned the contractor working on the Amenfi Central 24-hour economy market project to accelerate construction or risk having the contract terminated and re-awarded.

He gave the warning during a visit to the project site to inspect progress, accompanied by traditional leaders, including Nananom, who expressed concern about the pace of work.

The visit comes amid concerns that construction has not progressed as expected, despite the contractor, TEK Constructions, moving to site in August.

Mr Nelson said the current level of progress was unsatisfactory and indicated that the contractor’s representatives had been directed to take immediate steps to speed up work.

“My observation is that work has not progressed as expected. We have communicated this effectively to the contractor’s representatives, and they have indicated that they are putting measures in place to fasten the pace of work. We will be observing from today what the progress is going to be like. This is very important to the people of Amenfi Central,” he said.

The Regional Minister said the project was particularly important to residents because the market was the biggest in the district, raising expectations for its timely completion.

He said the presence of traditional leaders during the inspection reflected their concern about the project and their desire to see construction progress.

Mr Nelson warned that the government would not hesitate to terminate and re-award the contract if the contractor failed to demonstrate satisfactory progress.

He cited the Mpohor 24-hour market project, where the contract had been terminated over non-performance, as an example of the action that could be taken against contractors who failed to deliver.

“I have indicated to them that in places where contractors have not been up and doing, like the situation in Mpohor, the contract has been terminated and re-awarded. It doesn’t matter that they have dug this foundation here; if the work doesn’t progress as expected, we will have to take a decision on them,” he said.

The Minister explained that the contractor would be given successive warnings, with a final decision taken if progress remained below expectations.

He added that the project would be closely monitored to ensure that construction was completed in the interest of the people of Amenfi Central.

“We will come back some day to see what progress they have made. If they do well, we’ll clap for them; if they don’t, then a decision will have to be taken in the interest of the people to see this work completed for their benefit,” he said.

The project, which has an 18-month completion period, is currently 15 per cent complete.

However, the Project Engineer of TEK Constructions, Ing. Emmanuel, has assured the Regional Minister that the company is committed to meeting the deadline despite delays caused by rainfall.

He said the company was mobilising resources and accelerating work to ensure the project was completed within the stipulated period.

“We have the target to finish it by one and a half years’ time. So we are mobilising everything fast-track to meet that time record,” he said.

Ing. Emmanuel acknowledged that rainfall had disrupted some construction activities, particularly the planned casting of the foundation footings, but expressed confidence that the company could still meet its target.

He said the contractor was taking steps to manage the delays and maintain progress towards completion.

The Regional Minister also disclosed that the implementation of the 24-hour market initiative had encountered challenges in some of the Western Region’s 14 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

In Mpohor, the contract was terminated over poor performance, with arrangements underway to re-award it to another contractor.

In Ahanta West and Tarkwa-Nsuaem, however, the main challenge is the acquisition of suitable land free from litigation and other ownership disputes.

Mr Nelson said efforts were being made to address the land issues to enable construction of the markets in the two areas to commence.

The government’s monitoring of the Amenfi Central project is expected to determine whether the contractor makes sufficient progress to avoid further sanctions and deliver the market within the agreed timeframe.

By Ebenezer Atiemo