A multi-national company, the Renaissance Group, is to build two townships, one at Appolonia in Dodowa and the other at Asakae in Takoradi, beginning from the fourth quarter of this year. The townships will involve residential, commercial and industrial buildings with educational and health facilities. The company will also construct roads and provide water for the townships. Each township, to be funded solely by the Renaissance Group, is to take about 65,000 people. The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Renaissance Group, Mr Stephen Jennings, made this known during a courtesy call on the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, at the Castle, Osu, Tuesday. Mr Jennings and a business delegation were at the Castle to brief Mr Mahama on developments regarding the project. The Renaissance Group, which is into capital investment, has invested more than $200 billion in various projects across the world. Mr Jennings said his outfit had completed the master plan and indicated that the sod-cutting ceremony for the commencement of the projects would be held soon. He stressed that all the funding for the project was coming from the group and that the company wanted the government’s support to make the project a reality. On technology transfer, he said the group was partnering with technical institutions in Takoradi to enhance the skills of artisans who would work on the project. Mr Jennings said apart from discussions with government officials, the company was also talking with traditional rulers in the two areas to ensure smooth execution of the project. In his response, the Vice-President noted that the cities were getting congested, with 53 per cent of Ghana’s population living in urban areas. He said the increased number of people in the cities was putting much pressure on the limited facilities and indicated that the government was trying to ease the pressure in the cities through the building of more facilities. Therefore, he said, the construction of the townships in Dodowa and Takoradi was timely, noting that the population in Takoradi would increase because of the oil operations. Mr Mahama said Ghana was open to business and asked investors to continue to have confidence in the country and not hesitate to invest in its economy. He said they should not be discouraged by the increased political rhetoric in this election year and gave an assurance that the country was going to have peaceful and successful elections. The Vice-President again assured investors that the government would not overspend in this election year, explaining that doing that might disturb the macroeconomic gains.