World Bank to support Ghana build resilient city

Programme Leader for Sustainable Development, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone for the World Bank Ivo Imparato says although there is a platform for cities and investors to meet the challenge of urban resilience, it would take a significant amount of support.

Mr Imparato said this when he addressed an audience in Accra during the launch of the “Enhancing Urban Resilience in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA)” report.

Accra suffered a tragedy on June 3, 2015 after a heavy down pour.

The government of Ghana and the World Bank jointly put together an initiative "the CityStrength methodology" to understand GAMA’s exposure to risks, level of resilience and performance of urban system.

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He noted that proactively investing in resilience – prior to the occurrence of a catastrophic event – represents a strategic and cost-efficient shift from past development trends whereby investments were largely mobilized towards recovery and reconstruction post-disaster.

Saturday, June 3 will mark the second anniversary of the devastating floods of June 3, 2015 which affected more than 50,000 residents and led to the death of 150 people following an explosion at a filling station.

The World Bank rep stated that the World Bank supported the government to carry out a needs assessment right after the floods, which identified $ 105 million re-construction needs in the transport, housing and water sectors alone – reflecting just how quickly disasters could take away development gains, in addition to their human toll.

A recent World Bank report reveals that Global Average Annual Losses from disasters in the built environment are now estimated at $ 314 billion and can increase to $ 415 billion by 2030..

Currently, Accra is estimated to be home to over 4 million people, it is projected to house over 10 million by 2040.

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He said currently, cities were adding 1.4 million people per week and generating more than 80 per cent of global gross domestic products (GDP).

GAMA contributes 25 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and was an economic hub in the West African regional corridor.

“Proactively investing in resilience – prior to the occurrence of a catastrophic event – represents a strategic and cost-efficient shift from past development trends whereby investments were largely mobilised towards recovery and re-construction post-disaster.”

Ishmael Ashitey, the Regional Minister said the Regional Co-ordinating Council was committed and ready to provide the necessary leadership, requisite advisory services, capacity building support and technical backups to MMDAs towards the realisation of the laudable initiative.

World Bank to support Ghana build resilient city

Programme Leader for Sustainable Development, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone for the World Bank Ivo Imparato says although there is a platform for cities and investors to meet the challenge of urban resilience, it would take a significant amount of support.

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