Unpaid contractor delays KATH Mother and Baby Unit as materials deteriorate

The stalled Mother and Baby Unit project at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is facing further setbacks, with its consultant project manager warning that construction materials procured for the facility are deteriorating, and some have already become defective or expired due to prolonged delays.

Consultant Project Manager Emmanuel Fobi Asabere disclosed this during a visit by Parliament’s Select Committee on Health to the abandoned facility in Kumasi to assess the project’s status and challenges.

He said the contractor had been unable to resume full-scale construction because payments for work already undertaken remained outstanding, leading to repeated suspensions.

Mr Asabere said the project had been suspended for about 14 months, following an earlier period of reduced activity due to payment delays.

He explained that although the contractor had continued to maintain the site during the suspension, the prolonged inactivity was putting the procured materials and their warranty protections at risk.

“The suspension is as a result of non-payment to the contractor,” he said, adding that the contractor was awaiting payment before returning to work.

The project began in November 2019 as an effort to complete an existing hospital structure planned to accommodate about 850 beds.

However, assessments conducted after the contractor took over revealed serious structural defects.

Three other firms and the Ghana Institution of Engineers were subsequently engaged to evaluate the building, and their assessment concluded that repairing it would not be economically advisable.

The project was therefore redesigned as a 509-bed hospital, involving the demolition of the old structure and construction of a new facility.

Mr Asabere said the project initially cost GH¢188.5 million, but repeated suspensions led to additional expenses.

He put physical construction progress at approximately 56 per cent and procurement at 75 per cent, while confirming that the design work and demolition of the previous structure had been completed.

The outstanding payments, he warned, remain a major obstacle to resuming construction and completing the facility.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.