Eastern Regional Minister halts Koforidua China Mall project over severe flooding

In a major move to protect public safety and municipal infrastructure, the Eastern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has cracked down on the developers of the multi-million-cedi China Mall project in Koforidua.

The ongoing construction, situated in the heart of the New Juaben South Municipality, has been ordered to shut down immediately following a public outcry over severe, artificial flooding that has repeatedly cut off key transportation routes in the regional capital.

The intervention occurred on Friday, 22 May 2026, when the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, personally led a heavily armed detachment of police officers and senior drainage engineers from the Regional Urban Roads Department to storm the construction site.

The construction zone, strategically positioned opposite the Newlands Hospital at the Kenkey Factory area, near the perennially busy Dadis Bar traffic intersection, was the scene of a major environmental disaster a few days ago.

Following a heavy downpour, the site became completely overwhelmed, causing a massive volume of floodwater to burst onto the main dual carriageway.

The resulting deluge brought vehicular traffic to a standstill and left hundreds of pedestrians stranded. Motorists navigating the critical inner-city highway were forced to manoeuvre through dangerous currents, raising deep concerns over public safety and potential structural damage to the road network.

This decisive action marks the third consecutive time that city planning authorities and regional security coordinators have been forced to halt physical work on the massive commercial project.

The project has faced issues due to the developers’ alleged non-compliance with previous binding directives.

These orders required the contractors to construct robust, high-capacity drainage networks and subterranean culverts to accommodate the natural flow of stormwater before proceeding with any vertical structures.

The controversial commercial project, which broke ground in early 2025, has been a source of growing friction between local residents and municipal handlers.

Aggrieved road users and environmental advocates have repeatedly accused both the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly and the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council of regulatory negligence, pointing out that the developers were permitted to build within a sensitive, natural riparian zone.

Confronting the structural failures on-site, the Regional Minister did not mince words, ordering the immediate suspension of all construction activities.

She directed the regional police command to post personnel at the site to guarantee total enforcement and compliance, warning that any breach of the order would attract severe legal sanctions.

Madam Awatey instructed the developers to immediately stop all building work and collaborate with the engineering teams from the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly and the Urban Roads Department.

She emphasised that the contractors must address all outstanding structural and hydraulic engineering failures and build the required drainage infrastructure before any administrative clearance would be considered to allow construction to resume.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)