Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, Minister for Roads and Highways has called on stakeholders in the construction industry to position themselves strategically to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
According to him the AfCFTA provides numerous opportunities and thus implored the contractors to create a united front and compete fairly with foreign companies.
Mr Amoako-Atta made the call at the National Infrastructure Summit (NFS) 2021 in Accra.
The summit which was attended by professionals from the Built Industry was on the theme: “The AfCFTA project financing and the construction industry in Ghana “Myths or Reality”.
The National Infrastructure Summit 2021 among other things sought to identify the opportunities under the AfCFTA for players in the construction industry to take full advantage of.
Mr Amoako-Atta also charged the construction industry to take the lead in terms of forming a strong consortium to be able to bid for big contracts for other sectors to follow.
He assured that the government would continue to partner and assist the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GhCCI) with the things they required.
Mr Kwabena Agyapong, Executive Director, West African Federation of Engineering Organisation in his comment stated that the National Infrastructure Summit was intended to expose to the construction sector benefits that can accrue to them under the AfCFTA.
He said the conference seeks to create awareness for people to position themselves to take advantage of the AfCFTA since the market under the Free Trade Area is going to be big.
“The market is going to be big, over a billion people on the African continent…Ghana is only 30 million people. If you are an entrepreneur providing service or a product you have access to a wider market”.
Mr Agyapong also called Ghana contractors to form joint ventures to broaden their skillsets to be able to participate or bid for big projects.
He said it was about time Ghanaians got interested and showed more concern about what is in AfCFTA for the Ghanaian people.
Mr Cherry Emmanuel, Chief Executive Officer of GhCCI indicated that the meeting was to enable industry players to brainstorm and to assess the advantages that can accrue to their members under the AfCFTA.
He expressed concern about the rising cost of building materials in the country which he said was affecting the construction industry to be competitive.
GNA