Efficient infrastructure needed for economic growth

The President of the Ghana Consulting Engineers Association, Mr Kofi Asare -Yeboah,  has observed that Ghana’s economic growth will depend on the country’s ability to design, construct and maintain a very efficient infrastructure.

He said there was, therefore, the need for Ghana to upgrade its infrastructure.

He made the observation at the launch of  the 2015 international engineers and consultant conference in Accra.

The conference is being organised jointly by the Ghana Consulting Engineers Association (GCEA) and the Group of Africa Member Association (GAMA) of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).  

The FIDIC-GAMA annual conference is the biggest annual networking event for consulting engineers in Africa, and the launch was meant to solicit for funds for the upcoming programme.

The three-day conference is slated for April 12, 2015, in Accra.

My Yeboah said it was noteworthy that the design, supervision of construction and the development of the maintenance regime of the infrastructure were essentially handled by the country’s assembly of consulting engineering firms.

“With our emerging oil and gas industry and the passing of the local content bill of the energy sector of our economy, the need to position the indigenous consulting engineering industry to assume its proper place in the development of the country is long overdue,” he said.

“No country got developed by being dependent on foreigners, certainly not by external consulting firms. Moreover, it is important to remember that there is always the need to retain institutional knowledge of projects which are best kept by any country’s indigenous firms,” he added.

Upgrade Infrastructure

Mr Asare-Yeboah, called on Ghanaians to upgrade their building infrastructure and said it was vital to retain institutional knowledge of projects which were best kept by local firms.

He stated that Ghana was selected to host the conference due to its prominence in the affairs of Africa and the potential it had for rapid growth.

Be dedicated

A fellow of the Ghana Institute of Engineers, Mr Kwesi Abbey Sam, who spoke on the theme, “Promoting greater use of indigenous consultant”, advised indigenous consulting engineers to increase quality and ensure good supervision of their work. 

He advised the youth in the engineering sector to gain more experience before establishing their own firms, saying that it would promote efficiency and offer them an in-depth knowledge of the work.