President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, has commissioned a newly developed housing estate in Community 22 in the Tema area of the Greater Accra Region.
The project, under the government’s National Housing and Mortgage Fund (NHMF) took nine months to complete.
Under the first phase of the pilot project to be replicated across the country, GCB Bank in collaboration with the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) constructed 204 units/flats for public sector workers.
The 204 completed houses which construction started in February 2020 covers 20.80 acres of the total 37.54 acres land size for the enclave, and has 2.8 km of roads, 4.8 km of drains, 510m of precast concrete storm drain, and a total of 1.9km fence wall, as well as the provision of water and electricity.
The pilot housing project comprises of 50 units of two-bedroom detached houses, 118 units two bedroom semi-detached and 36 number of one-bedroom semi-detached.
An amount of GHS45 million has been put into the NHMF for the financing of such affordable housing and assured that government was working assiduously to increase the fund to about one billion Ghana cedis for the project to be replicated across the country. Six contractors made up of five Ghanaians, and one foreign companies worked on the project
President Akufo-Addo said government’s intervention in the housing and mortgage sector financing has reduced mortgages rates by 60%.
President Akufo-Addo said government was committed to solving the huge housing deficit, indicating that the supply of about 40,000 housing units by the housing industry annually was inadequate to meet the about 70,000 annual housing needs of Ghanaians which he said had led to the deficit.
He said it was to address such issue that his government brought the initiative, adding that with the success of the Community 22 pilot; they hope to expand it to other parts of the country when his government received the nod for a second term.
The Deputy Managing Director (Finance) of GCB, Mr Socrates Afram, on behalf of the Board and Management of the Bank expressed appreciation to the President and the government for reposing trust in the Bank.
He said, as underwriters for the project, GCB has the financial well-withal to support the project for the benefit of Ghanaian workers.
GCB through our subsidiaries, GCB Capital Ltd and GCB Real Estate Trust (GCB REIT) partnered the NHMF to finance the construction of the estate.
The Bank is also providing mortgage financing to enable buyers acquire properties with ease.
The government in 2018 initiated and approved NHMF based on two pilot schemes; the National Mortgage Scheme NMS and the Affordable Housing (Rent-To-Own). Occupants or beneficiaries of the project have the option of paying monthly or owning the house under the rent-to-own.
Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, noted that for Ghana to successfully bridge the two million housing deficit, 200,000 units of houses were needed to be provided annually.
Present at the commissioning ceremony were the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako Atta, Mr. Kofi Awuku, MD of GCB Capital, Mrs. Joyce Mensah, Governance and Risk Control, Consumer Banking, Mr. Kwasi Osei Bobie, Financial Controller and Mr. Kojo Kwarteng, Head of Corporate Affairs Department.