The Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited (GTFCL) aiming at maintaining its core mandate of facilitating trade and promoting business, has held the 2nd Investor Conference in Accra together with Investor from Ghana and outside the country.
Investor participants were provided with detailed insight into the entire redevelopment scheme including the Master plan and its development guidelines.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited (GTFCL), Dr. Agnes Adu expressed her excitement at the level of interest that Investors has shown from the beginning till now.
Dr. Adu emphasized that, because of what COVID-19 did as far as the project is concerned, she would not give any assurance of the time frame for the project completion adding that, they set a time line of three to five years of the project.
She however averred that three to five years from now, GTFCL hope to engage the various developers who would come and join.
The Project she indicated, is building the core mandate of Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited modern standard facilities which comprises trade promotion, trade exhibition, promoting of made in Ghana.
She revealed that, Trade Fair over the years have fallen into disrepair where every successive Government have attempted in some way to redevelop it. “This Government, this Board of Directors, this Management, Myself the CEO, have finally broken ground and we are developing Trade Fair”.
Among the facilities to be built at the Trade Fair site as part of the redevelopment agenda she stated include, Hotel to serve as accommodation, retail outlets etc saying, they are building a Technology Hub to boost the economy.
A developer by name African Hub Centre being supported by the American Government according to Dr. Agnes Adu, has come on board to put a data center at Trade Fair adding that, for so long, Africa has been left out of the infrastructure conversation when it comes to Technology.
The Project she mentioned, is not entirely founded by Government but partnering the Private Sector saying, anytime they can use the Private sector to raise funds, they would do that.
The Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori Atta revealed that, what Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited is embarking on, would bring a new transformation that the Government is thinking about.
GTFCL originally began in 1960 as a project to facilitate Ghana’s post-independence trade and industrialization drive. The current trade fair site was acquired under an Executive Instrument (El 10 1967) to showcase and promote Ghana’s exports with the view to attract investors.
The project has subsequently metamorphosed into a commercial operation with GTFCL being positioned as a limited liability company with the mandate to promote and facilitate trade in Ghana.
GTFCL seeks to refocus its operations to become a profitable, well-resourced and efficiently run institution capable of playing its role as envisaged by its sole shareholder, the Government of Ghana.
In line with the new direction, GTFCL seeks to focus on its core mandate of trade promotion and facilitation and allow other investors to focus on the provision of ancillary services that supp ort the core mandate utilizing its assets, including the land and other infrastructure at its disposal.
This entail the redevelopment of the entire site and the Company believes that the redevelopment project represents a unique opportunity for GTFCL to maximize the capacity of Ghana’s global market infrastructure as well as construct a resilient and thriving platform for trade, while promoting Ghanaian Resources, both human and material capital. The redeveloped site is to be called the Trade and Expo City.
The City would provide a modern mixed-use, Smart, Green and Sustainable enclave which would promote the core mandate of Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited (GTFCL) through hosting Conventions, Exhibitions and Trade shows and would also serve as hub of domestic, sub-regional and international trade and commerce.
The new destination would also host a Made-in-Ghana Technology hub which would be a centre for commercial, research and high-end manufacturing to support the Government’s industrialization drive into the 21st Century.
The Project Project Implementation ” The development will be rolled out in two (2) major phases. ” Phase 1: to be developed into a mixed-use development on approximately 100 acres; and ” Phase 2: to be developed the AFCTA Secretariat, high-end apartments and other facilities around the Africa Lake on the residual parcel of land of about 56 acres. ” The project implementation will follow this sequence:
GTCFL intends to remain owners and managers of the entire redevelopment scheme. The
GTFCL would develop the basic infrastructure at the site, prepare and lease out plots of land within the scheme, as designated fo specific purposes, to investors and developers to develop for such purposes.
GTFCL would retain overall responsibility for the governance, development and management of the scheme relying on national and international best practices.
GTFCL would , at all times, seek to focus on its core mandate of trade promotion and facilitation and allow other investors to focus on the provision of ancillary services that support its core mandate. For this reason, GTFCL would retain its Principal Investor position in core developments like the Convention and Exhibition Centers.
