President Mills breaks ground for commencement of STX housing project

Accra, GNA - President John Atta Mills on Thursday performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the commencement of the eagerly-awaited Ghana National Housing Project, pushing the venture as "a legacy that history will not be able to write".


"This is a significant turning point in the history of our dear country. This is the change we promised …And government intends to leave a strong and positive legacy and the completion of this project will be a legacy that history will not be able to write," he said
The ceremony kick-starts the initial phase of the project that would witness the building of 30,000 housing units valued at 1.5 billion dollars for the security agencies across the 10 regions.

The grand plan of the project is to build a total of 200,000 housing units within five years to augment the national housing deficit.

Addressing a motley crowd at the adorned parade grounds of the Police College in Accra, President Mills said the STX Housing Project, was tied to the National Democratic Congress' 2008 manifesto commitment to expand infrastructure.

He said the successful implementation of the project signalled government's commitment to fulfil its promise to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians, reassuring workers that their well-being was at the heart of government's agenda.

President Mills, however, warned that government would not tolerate shoddy work because "we are not building houses for the sake of building; we are building houses that will stand the test of time".


"This is not about scoring cheap political points; it is about providing acceptable and durable accommodation for the hardworking Ghanaian worker…The tax payer is working too hard and we dare not abuse and waste the nation's scarce resources," he noted.

President Mills commended the Korean government for the gesture done Ghana to improve infrastructure to strengthen its economy, urging STX and all other players to put their best into the project.

Mr Jong Hwang Jung, Korean Minister for Lands, Transportation and Maritime, touted the ceremony as the "start of an unprecedented housing project in Ghana".

"This project would bring mutual benefits to our countries and I hope more co-operative projects would be undertaken between Ghana and Korea."

He commended Ghana for the move, stating that it would improve the lot of Ghanaians.

Water Resource, Works and Housing Minister, Mr Alban Bagbin, noted that despite the stormy tide the project passed through, the ceremony marked the "strong and uncompromising" commitment of government to deliver a "Better Ghana" by providing world-class affordable housing to Ghanaians.

He said his ministry would ensure that the project met quality and time obligations.

GNA