STX Houses Will Be Ready In 2 Years

Mr. B.K. Asamoah, the man behind the STX deal that is to help the government of Ghana to provide 30,000 housing units for personnel of the country’s security services, has given the assurance that the houses would be ready in two years instead of the five years captured in the agreement.

Speaking to newsmen at the sidelines of an impressive ground breaking ceremony at the National Police T raining School at Tesano in Accra on Thursday, an upbeat-sounding B.K. Asamoah was most emphatic that the technology that would be used in constructing the buildings is such that he expects that the project would be completed in just two years.

Commenting on President Mills’ admonishment that the government of Ghana would not tolerate any shoddy work; B.K. Asamoah pointed out that STX, being a reputable international company, it would not be in the interest of the company to do nay shoddy work.

He stressed that the government of Ghana would not cough up a dime in payments for the buildings until the project has been completed and handed over, hence there is adequate opportunity for the government to assure itself of the quality of the buildings before effecting payments.

He also gave the assurance that Ghanaian contractors and artisans would benefit from the deal since lots of the jobs would be sub-contracted to them.

Meanwhile, analysts believe that STX’s determination to complete the job in two years instead of five years, as revealed by Mr. Asamoh, is borne out of fears that in the unlikely event that there is a change in government in 2012 the company would not have to be chewing the bitter end of the stick.

The NPP has made it abundantly clear that, in the unlikely event that they [NPP] return to power in 2012, they would hound the Koreans in the name of probing the deal.

Indeed, the Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is on record as having promised that an Akufo Addo-Led government would not only probe the deal but it would review it.

The ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday was to pave the way for the commencement of the actual construction works on the project.
The ceremony was witnessed by a Korean Minister of State for Lands, Transportation and Maritime Affairs, Chung Jong Hwan, and the Korean ambassador to Ghana, both of whom represented the Korean government.
The Korean Minister, Mr. Chung Jong Hwan, stressed that the Korean government is backing the deal because of Ghana’s attraction as a peaceful nation.

Source: The Ghanaian Lens