Why contractor wants 45-year-old KATH maternity ward demolished

Emmanuel Asabre, the project manager for Arckito Consult, the firm in charge of the maternity and children block of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital has given justifications for his recommendation for the demolishing of the 45-year-old block.

Despite public pressure for works to continue, the contractors remain firm in their stance that restarting the project all over is the surest way of ensuring its safety.

Speaking after a tour of the facility with the officials of the Health Ministry and KATH, Emmanuel Asabre said that the foundation of the building has been weakened due to the exposure to the weather for the past four and half-decade.

He insisted that the project in its current state is unfit for purpose and any attempt to continue with it could lead to further losses.

“We are of the opinion that the weather is a major effect on the way the building has deteriorated as quickly as we have seen it.

“It has been raining, so you see that it keeps going through the whole building and the whole building is exposed. One portion of the building begins to rust, and it spreads through the whole place.”

Responding to claims that razing down the building could cause financial loss, the head of Architecture and Engineering at the Ministry of Health, Richard Vanderpuye said that the nation’s interest is being protected.

“It is a huge risk because one mistake and the whole building will collapse. If you knock out one column like this, the whole building can come down,” Mr. Vanderpuye said.

“We cannot continue to do things that will cause more financial loss. We will not continue to create problems. We have enough money to build a facility that will be useful to Komfo Anokye,” he added.

The redevelopment of the project will see it reduce from the initial 750-bed capacity to 500 beds.

The Deutsche Bank in Germany will fund the project for €155 million.