The mall and hotel projects will be carried out by BG International, a real estate development firm from the United States of America. The projects, worth millions of dollars, are expected to begin later this year and completed in 2016.
At a stakeholders’ forum organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to seek opinions with regard to the environment from residents and other interest groups on the project, the Chief Executive Officer of BG International, Mr Irwin Barkan, said the project would employ over 1,500 Ghanaians when completed.
Benefits of project
According to Mr Barkan, the establishment of the mall and hotel would boost economic activities in the area. He said projections made by the company indicated that the organisation would pay about GH¢30 million annually in terms of salaries to workers on the project.
He said the perennial floods that occurred in the Mallam Junction area would be reduced by 1.5 metres. He gave assurance that the company would construct large drains and passages that would ensure that water flowed out without difficulty so that flooding in the construction area would be reduced drastically.
To ensure the protection of the wetland and the ecosystem, Mr Barkan said the company would leave out four acres of land space to serve as a green belt.
Best practices
Mr Barkan further gave an assurance that the company would employ best practices in waste management and would construct a waste treatment facility as part of the project.
Other add-ons, according to Mr Barkan, would include the construction of access roads and basic facilities needed for the effective functioning of the projects.
Public participation
For her part, the Senior Programme Officer of the Environmental Assessment and Audit Division of the EPA, Mrs Andriana Nelson, said the Environmental Assessment Regulations of 1999, L.I 1652, assigned authority to the EPA to organise a public meeting in order to incorporate the concerns of stakeholders in the evaluation and assessment of any project which had environmental implications.
Stakeholders expressed concern over the benefits of the project to the local economy and its possible effects on the environment.
They were assured by the management of the company that additional access roads that were to be constructed and the widening of drainage systems would pose no environmental challenge to residents.
The management of BG also disclosed that they were working with other state institutions such as the Ghana Highway Authority and the Urban Roads Department to ensure that the construction of the project did not pose a threat to the public.
The Mallam Junction Mall
The project by BG international, which is to be built at the key transport interchange of Mallam Junction connecting Accra to the Western part of Ghana, will have a dozen retail shops, playgrounds, a car park and a three-star hotel.
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