GHANA · HEALTH
Key Facts
- —What is happening As of Wednesday, 14 October, work on the 509-bed Mother and Baby Unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi has been suspended for about 14 months because the contractor has not been paid.
- —Why it matters A maternity hospital first started in November 2019 sits just over half built, while procured materials deteriorate, some expire and their warranties are put at risk by the long stoppage.
- —The numbers Physical construction stands at about 56% and procurement at about 75%, after the original 850-bed plan was replaced by a 509-bed rebuild; the total cost is not yet confirmed.
- —Who is who Emmanuel Fobi Asabere is the consultant project manager, while Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane chairs Parliament’s Select Committee on Health, the panel that oversees the health sector and visited the site.
- —What to watch Whether the contractor’s payment certificates are settled from government internal funds, as Nawaane promised, and when full-scale construction resumes; no date has been set for either.
- —What it means for you For US investors in Ghana, unpaid contractor bills signal tight public cash flow, and Ghanaian Americans with family in Kumasi should not expect the new maternity beds soon.
A half-built maternity hospital in Ghana’s second city has stood idle for more than a year. Its project manager says the reason is simple: the contractor has not been paid.
Work on the KATH Mother and Baby Unit, a 509-bed maternity hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, has been suspended for about 14 months. The consultant project manager, Emmanuel Fobi Asabere, says the stoppage is caused by non-payment to the contractor.
Procured building materials are deteriorating, and some have become defective or expired, putting their warranties at risk. For foreign investors and donors, the idle site shows how unpaid bills can freeze even a priority health project in Ghana.
What the Project Manager Told Lawmakers
Asabere spoke during a visit to the Kumasi site by Parliament’s Select Committee on Health, the cross-party panel overseeing health. MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom, two leading Ghanaian news sites, both carried his account on Wednesday, 14 October.
“The suspension is as a result of non-payment to the contractor,” Asabere said. He added that the full stop followed an earlier period of reduced activity, also caused by payment delays.
The contractor, which neither outlet names, has kept the site maintained during the suspension. It is waiting to be paid for work already done before returning to full-scale construction.
Asabere warned that some procured materials have become defective or expired while sitting unused. He said the long inactivity also puts the warranty protections on those materials at risk.
Why KATH Matters
Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region and Ghana’s second-largest city. Like Ghana’s other teaching hospitals, it falls under the Ministry of Health, which funds and oversees them.
The new Mother and Baby Unit is meant to add dedicated beds for mothers and newborns at the hospital. For scale, 509 beds is comparable to a large regional hospital in a mid-sized US city.
How the KATH Project Was Redesigned
The project began in November 2019 as an effort to complete an existing hospital structure planned for about 850 beds. Assessments after the takeover found serious structural defects in that older building.
Three other firms and the Ghana Institution of Engineers, the national professional body for engineers, reviewed the structure. They concluded that repairing it was not economically advisable.
The project was therefore redesigned as a new 509-bed hospital, which required demolishing the old structure first. That decision reset much of the work and explains part of the long timeline since 2019.
How Far the Work Has Gone
Physical construction stands at about 56%, or just over half, the project manager said. Procurement of materials and equipment is about 75% complete.
Design work is finished, and demolition of the previous structure is fully complete. Asabere said the repeated suspensions have added to the project’s cost, without putting a figure on the increase.
Committee Chair Urges Contractors to Stay
Citi Newsroom also quoted Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, chairman of the Select Committee on Health, after the visit. “Contractors, don’t give up,” he said, adding that the government will honour outstanding payments.
Nawaane asked contractors to raise their payment certificates for completed work, promising that “something will be done about it.” He said the money would come from “our internal source,” but he gave no amount or date.
What It Means for US Readers
No US company is named as the contractor, and no US funding link appears in the coverage. The case still matters to US holders of Ghanaian bonds, because unpaid contractor bills can signal tight government cash flow.
Ghanaian Americans with relatives in the Ashanti Region should not expect the new maternity capacity soon. Nawaane’s promise of internal funding, if kept, will test whether the government can clear arrears without new borrowing.
What Is Not Known
The contractor’s name, the amount it is owed and the project’s funder are not given in the coverage. The total cost is also unclear, because the two outlets give figures that do not match.
No response from the Ministry of Health or KATH management appears in the coverage. No date has been set for payment or for work to restart.
What Comes Next
The next step is for the contractor to submit payment certificates, as Nawaane urged, and for the government to settle them. Only then can full-scale work resume on the remaining 44% of physical construction.
The committee’s visit does not mean money has been released. It also does not settle who will pay for materials that expired during the suspension.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the KATH Mother and Baby Unit?
It is a planned 509-bed maternity hospital at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Work began in November 2019 and the building was later redesigned from scratch.
Why has construction stopped?
The consultant project manager says the contractor has not been paid for work already done. The site has been suspended for about 14 months.
How much of the hospital is finished?
Physical construction is about 56% complete and procurement about 75%. Design work and demolition of the old structure are finished.
What did Parliament’s health committee chair say?
Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane urged contractors not to abandon the project and said the government will pay. He gave no amount or date for the payments.
Does the delay affect visitors to Kumasi?
The delay concerns a new building, not the hospital’s existing wards. Visitors and residents should not count on the new maternity capacity opening soon.
Sources: MyJoyOnline: Unpaid contractor delays KATH Mother and Baby Unit; Citi Newsroom: KATH Mother and Baby Unit contractor awaits payment; Citi Newsroom: Nawaane to contractors (all accessed 14 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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