The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in collaboration with the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) is to initiate a new urban development project in four cities of the country. The initiative known as "Municipal Contract Project" involving 30 million Euros, would be piloted in Tamale in the Northern Region, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Sekondi/Takoradi in the Western Region and Ho in the Volta Region. The project would focus on infrastructural development, service delivery and capacity building of the Metropolitan Assemblies to improve the living conditions of the people. Mr Samuel Lefevre, Project Manager at the AFD Head Office and Leader of the four-member team disclosed this during a courtesy call on Mr Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister in Tamale on Friday. Mr Lefevre said the 30 million euros would be shared among the Assemblies based on their size and population. He explained that the purpose of the team's visit to Tamale was to obtain a clear understanding of the institutional framework, financial context, strategy initiatives and priorities of the Assemblies among other things. He said this would enable the team to obtain full perspectives of the main lines and components of each of the city's urban projects, including their priority investments, key financial and organisational measures and structures. Mr Nayina commended the AFD for its intervention in the development of the country, noting that as regards urban development, the Tamale Metropolis was the fastest growing city in West Africa and as such, was faced with a number of challenges. He mentioned improvement of the city's road network, waste management, development of the markets and parking lots for vehicles as areas of concern. The Regional Minister also noted that the issue of waste management was a big headache in the Metropolis and hoped that with the intervention of the new project, something would be done about it by way of recycling the waste products. Source: GNA