Bank of Ghana defends and explains decision to build new Headquarters
The Bank of Ghana says it was guided by all legal requirements in going through all the processes from inception to its current state of constructing its new Corporate Headquarters Project.
The Central Bank said it strictly adhered to internal due diligence protocols.
A statement from the Bank of Ghana, said in 2011, the Board of Directors of the Bank agreed that they must consider looking for suitable land for the new headquarters and in 2012 the Bank was allocated a 5.19-acre land at Accra Central by the Lands Commission and a total of GH₵791,580.00 was paid.
A statement said the Bank, however, was not given access to the land as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration refused to grant the Bank vacant possession because they had never agreed to give up ownership of the land.
It said the Board at its 662nd Regular Meeting directed the Corporate Management and Services Department of the Bank by a decision dated December 18, 2019, to initiate all proper processes for the development of the new Corporate Headquarters.
Subsequently, the Bank went through the required processes to acquire a parcel of land at West Ridge, which previously owned by the State Insurance Company (SIC).
It said the land was compulsorily acquired by the government by Executive Instrument, 2020 E.I 304 for the Headquarters, a building of national interest.
The statement said the compulsory acquisition process started in 2019 and the Executive Instrument was published and gazetted in 2020.
It said to procure a highly complex central bank accommodation meeting national security considerations, as well as the Bank’s highly classified information security needs, informed the selection of the firms.
It said the Bank wrote to the Public Procurement Act on January 14, 2020, for approval to use the restricted tender method and the procurement method based on national security considerations.
“The following firms, known to be operating in Ghana, were shortlisted: MAN Enterprise, WBHO Ghana Limited, De Simone Limited, Goldkey Properties Limited and Ronesans Construction,” the statement added.
It said Ronesans Construction, though not wholly Ghanaian, had partnered with David Walter Limited, a local partner, during the tendering process.
It said the PPA by a letter dated January 29, 2020, conveyed its approval to the Bank
The approval to use the shortlisted contractors for the restricted tender also revised downward the estimated cost of the project from $100,857,942.48 to $81,882,640.00 without any justification.
It said after evaluation of tenders were received, the Entity Tender Committee (ETC) of the Bank at its meeting held on August 6, 2020, considered Tender Evaluation Panel’s recommendation, and approved the award of contract for the project to Messrs Goldkey Properties Limited at the cost of $121,078,517.94, the least cost evaluated bid, under Turnkey.
On the Designing and Building contract arrangements, the ETC further directed concurrent approval to be sought from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) of the Ministry of Finance.
The statement said the PPA in a response to the Bank’s letter dated August 31, 2020, reviewed the initial PPA approved estimated amount from $81,882,640.00 to $121,078,517.94.
The CTRC on September 4, 2020, granted concurrent approval to the Bank to engage the recommended Tenderer, Messrs Goldkey Properties Limited at a contract price of $121,078,517.94 under Turnkey (Design and Build) contract arrangements, which was the least evaluated bid.
It said after a series of pre-contract meetings on contract agreements, the Bank signed a contract with the Contractor on November 26, 2020, for the construction of a Corporate Headquarters via Turnkey in 30months (6 months for design, 24 months for construction).
The project site was formally handed over to the Contractor in March 2021 for commencement of preliminary site works and designs.
It said Profica, GHC Africa, Diagonal, DAR, AECOM, MULTICAD were invited to express interest in leading the Bank’s project in the area of project management commensurate with the level of complexity of the Bank’s building.
The statement said following a scrutiny of their profiles, the Bank settled on MULTICAD, a Ghanaian consultancy firm which had partnered other consultants in all the identified projects.
In July 2021, the Bank invited a proposal from MULTICAD to be considered for a single source.
MULTICAD was adjudged uniquely qualified in its knowledge of the larger cultural context of the local design and execution environment and its depth of knowledge of the statutory context and having been partners in design and execution of several notable buildings afforded the Bank de-risked fluent Project Design Management and construction oversight.
It said a consultancy fee of 3.36 per cent of the contract sum (translating into $3,450,417.00 was negotiated, mindful of the Ministry of Works and Housing’s recommended threshold of 16.5 per cent.
The ETC of the Bank at its meeting held on December 19, 2022, considered, and approved the design review and revised project cost of $2,068.00/m2.
This figure compares favourably with data from the Africa Property & Construction Cost Guide 2021/22 ($2,658/m2) and 2022/23 ($2,720.00/m2) as average construction costs for Prestige High Rise Office spaces in Africa.
The Project is expected to be completed in September 2024.
Source: GNA