GNPC Abandons US$14m Ellembelle Hospital Project

For six years, residents of Ellembelle have watched what was once envisioned as a $14 million state-of-the-art health facility deteriorate into an overgrown construction site, prompting renewed calls for the project to be completed.

The abandoned project was intended to expand St. Martin de Porres Hospital at Eikwe, a major referral facility that serves the three Nzema municipalities and also receives patients from neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.

On October 16, 2020, then-Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Board Chairman Freddie Blay and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kofi Koduah Sarpong cut the sod for the upgrade of the 60-year-old Catholic hospital.

The project was expected to transform healthcare delivery in the area at an estimated cost of $14 million.

Construction reportedly reached about 60 per cent completion by 2022 before work stalled following a change in the corporation’s leadership. Since then, the site has remained abandoned, with vegetation overtaking the unfinished structures.

Speaking to 3news, former Assembly Member for the Kristan and Eikwe Electoral Area, Nicholas Kenya, said the project came to an abrupt halt.

“It was started during the NPP era. After working for some time, they stopped, complaining about a lack of funds to continue. Then, after the general elections, they never came back,” he lamented.

Another resident, Emmanuel Donkor, underscored the importance of completing the facility for the coastal communities.

“In this coastal area, Eikwe is the largest community, largely due to its hospital. We are appealing to the government to consider that people cannot always afford to travel all the way to Effia Nkwanta Hospital or the 37 Military Hospital for healthcare. If we have the necessary facilities here, they can serve the same purpose. We therefore humbly plead with the government to come to our aid,” he appealed.

The Ellembelle District Chief Executive (DCE), Joseph Agyekum, confirmed to 3news that the District Assembly is seeking answers from the GNPC regarding the stalled project.

According to him, both the Assembly and the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, have formally written to the corporation requesting an explanation.

“This project, which commenced in 2020, has remained stalled for the past four years. In 2021, during the second term of President Nana Addo, the then board chairman and CEO handed over to new leadership. Following this transition, the project stalled and was neglected,” the DCE explained.

Mr. Agyekum said the current GNPC Chief Executive Officer has assured the Assembly that steps are being taken to address the matter.

“The GNPC CEO has assured us that they will attend to the hospital in the coming weeks. I am also informed that they are currently conducting a minor forensic audit of the project,” he added.

The DCE further disclosed that the abandoned hospital project is not an isolated case, noting that several other GNPC-funded projects in the district have also stalled.

Among them, he said, is a girls’ dormitory project at Nkroful Agric Senior High School, which commenced in 2020 but has since been abandoned.

He also indicated that several town road projects initiated under the Gas and Oil Enclave Roads programme have similarly stalled.

“There is another stalled project at Nkroful Agric Senior High School, a girls’ dormitory which was also started in 2020 but has since stalled. Furthermore, in many of our communities, people assumed that the town roads and all related projects were being handled by Ghana Gas. In fact, they are managed by both Ghana Gas and GNPC.

“Most of the town roads, which were initiated in 2015 by Mr Buah as part of the Gas and Oil Enclave Roads project, were also started by GNPC in 2020 but have now been halted,” the DCE stated.

He urged the corporation to expedite its forensic audit and ensure that construction resumes on the affected projects.

“We have formally written to GNPC regarding these projects to find out why they have been abandoned, and we urge them to ensure that construction resumes as soon as possible,” he added.

Residents of Eikwe and the wider Ellembelle District are now awaiting the outcome of the promised forensic audit, hoping it will lead to the resumption of work on the long-abandoned projects.