Construction: Ambitious multi-million dollar Skyville housing plan launched in Ghana

A private housing firm, Korea & Ghana Development (KO&G) has ventured into the construction of 297 luxurious apartments costing $200 million, a move described as ambitious and game changer in the country's construction sector.

The multi-million dollar Skyville project will create over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs over the construction period of 30 months and offer over 300 post construction employment opportunities, company officials said.

It is also essential that the construction industry itself be made more efficient

The take-off of the multipurpose apartment project, which is said to be the first kind in the country, will serve as residential area, with exclusive branded shops, restaurant, cafeteria, a fitness centre, swimming pool, and a state of the art office complex with sophisticated interior and security features.

"We emphasise security and technology that makes life easy, secure and comfortable homes for our homeowners and residents," KO&G chief executive officer, Jojo Dines Clint said.

"With our home network system, you can watch and monitor your children play at the children's playground in the comfort of your living room and your smart phone can easily switch on your air conditioner from the ground floor before you get into your apartment."

Many have raised concerns about the engineering, some legal apsects, bankability and viability of the project in the current economic situation and the cost of high end housing market in a fledgling middle income economy like Ghana.

"I am glad to say, we being able to find answers to these questions, has strengthened our resolve as a team to bring this quite ambitious project to fruition," Clint said.

He explained that though the Ghanaian market was young and needed time to mature, the country will prosper with steady economic growth, with proper regulatory regimes to protect developers, investors, buyers and stakeholders in the industry.

"There are huge potential opportunities for the [housing] industry and I will personally encourage investors not to be weary because there is a saying that 'you don't wait and buy real estate but you buy and wait'," Clint said.

The West African country's housing deficits is pegged at 1.7 million units, with the figure projected to 2 million by 2018, a gap that requires about $2.2 billion to close.

The country's housing industry faces a raft of problems including high interest rates, tax, land acquisition, stiff competition with foreign companies and rising cost of raw materials.

"The biggest problem of housing in Ghana is its cost and the government has to find ways of reducing the cost of building materials, mainly through the use of more indigenous materials," Danywise Construction CEO, Frank Aboagye Danyansah told The Africa Report.

"It is also essential that the construction industry itself be made more efficient, if this succeeds we will be able to build houses for workers across the country."

However, government efforts to build affordable housing for the country, with a fast growing middle class, have largely been unsuccessful due to internal wrangling, mistrust and political sabotage.

The government in 2011, for instance, was forced to stop a controversial multi-billion housing deal with STX Engineering and Construction Limited of South Korea, which was projected to construct 200,000 houses in five years estimated at a cost of $10 billion.

Parliament okayed an initial off-take agreement of 30,000 housing units in 2011 for the security agencies at $1.5 billion, but most of the projects have stalled.

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