Ghana Needs as Much as $3.6 Billion for Housing Each Year

By Ekow Dontoh (Bloomberg)

Ghana needs between $2 billion and $3.6 billion each year over the next decade to address a shortage of housing as the population of the world’s second- biggest cocoa producer climbs.

“We need to annually construct between 120,000 and 150,000 units of houses consistently for next 10 years to resolve the deficit, Alban Bagbin, minister for water resources, works and housing, told reporters in Accra, the capital, today.

Ghana’s population climbed 28 percent to 24 million people over the past decade, according to a census conducted last year by the Ghana Statistical Service. Government investments in housing haven’t kept pace with the expansion, Bagbin said. Ghana provides housing for many of its civil servants, including police officers and government workers.

The state raised $1.5 billion from a group of international banks, led by Barclays Capital, in a deal with STX Corp. of South Korea to build 30,000 housing units for security officials across Ghana, Bagbin said. The homes will be finished by 2015, he said.

Ghana wants to encourage more public-private partnerships to fill gaps in its housing sector by helping companies secure land grants and providing tax exemptions on building equipment, Bagbin said.