Parliament has approved a €56.1 million loan facility for the construction of 100-bed trauma hospitals at Obuasi and Anyinam as part of efforts to expand health care delivery in the country.

The government as part of the agreement will also build an Accident and Emergency center at Enyiresi Hospital and rehabilitate the Obuasi Health Centre.

The agreement is between government of Ghana through the Finance Ministry and Deutsche Bank AG (as the arranger and original lender) and TMF Global services (UK) Limited (as the facility arranger) to finance the project.

The project is expected to be completed three years after commencement and Ghana is expected to repay the loan within eight years.

The hospitals will come with an 18-bed Accident and Emergency ward for adults, 12-bed ward for Paediatric Emergencies and a 100-seater capacity waiting area.

The main theatres consist of operating rooms – six-bed recovery room, eight-bed intensive care unit and six-bed high dependency unit and among others.

The object of the loan agreement is to finance the construction of the required infrastructure, and the provision of medical equipment and ancillary services to ensure that the beneficiary hospitals are fully operational and befitting their status.

The project is also in line with government’s commitment to the provision of universal health care delivery to Ghanaians in line with government’s vision under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3).

Debating the Finance Committee’s report for its approval in Parliament, a Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare said completion of the project will bring a huge relive to residents of Anyinam and those within the catchment areas.

She stated that the gesture by the government shows that the Akufo-Addo led-administration has the health care and safety of Ghanaians at heart.

“The people of Anyinam, Enyiresi, New Jejeti and among others are very delighted and will forever be grateful to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the immense health care and other socioeconomic benefits to be derived from this project.

“We believe that it will improve the general wellbeing of the people in the catchment area and people who use the Accra-Kumasi highway” she stated.

On the Minority side, a former Health Minister, Joseph Yieleh Chireh said the decision by government to construct the hospital projects is laudable.

“Recently we were very happy that the president said before the end of the year more hospitals will be started, about 96 of them, I hope that this is the beginning and before the end of the month we should have all these hospitals started so that the fulfillment of the promise that president’s made will come to realization,” the Wa West MP stated.