The United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Mr Boris Johnson has announced an 18.5 million contract won by Cteq Limited, a British Company to supply medical equipment to nine hospitals currently at various stages of construction in Ghana.

The nine hospitals to be equipped include 37 Military Hospital, Kumasi, two regional hospitals in Wa, and Kumasi, and six district hospitals for Madina, Salaga, Nsawkaw, Tepa, Konongo and Twifo-Praso.

The Project has been split into three phases. The first stage includes the Wa hospital 160 beds, Nsawkaw and Tepa hospitals 60 beds each.

The second stage consists of Madina hospital 100 beds, Konongo, Salaga and Twifo-Praso hospitals 60 beds each whilst the third stage includes Luna's hospital 250 beds and Afari MOD, 500 beds.

Mr Boris Johnson made this announcement in Accra during a day's working visit to Ghana.

Making the announcement, Mr Boris Johnson said: "Cteq's deal to help equip Ghana's hospitals and train it's professionals is a fantastic example of a British SME entering the Ghanaian market".

"They represent the best of British: equipment that combines quality and innovation, and expertise to work with local partners and transfer skills to Ghanaian people," he said.

"That is exactly the sort of trade we want to aspire to as 'Global Britain'. I hope this is just the first of many such deals as the UK looks to increase exports and investments to Ghana to aid its economic growth and diversification," the Foreign Secretary added.

Mr Boris Johnson lauded the contributions of Ghanaians towards the UK's socioeconomic development.

He also praised the Ghanaian local industries, especially, the micro and small enterprises (MSEs) for their efforts in producing "Made in Ghana" goods.

Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Ghana's Minister for Health, in his response said: "It is citing to have a UK Company, Cteq Limited to be part of the contractors delivering the nine hospitals project in Ghana.

"The UK represents efficiency and quality and that is what we are confident Cteq Ltd will bring to these projects.

He was hopeful that local Ghanaian technicians would benefit from the technology and knowledge transfer that would be available as a result of working on the project and expressed gratitude to the UK government for their support.

Mr Adam Afriyie, the UK Trade Envoy, said the UK had a lot to offer to Ghana.

Cteq Ltd is a leading provider of procurement and engineering solutions for the healthcare sector.

Ayman Hamid, the Chief Executive of Cteq, who was also present at the event, was very excited about the strides his Company had made after making a bold decision to consider exporting their goods and services abroad.

He said: "Cteq is honoured to get such an exciting opportunity and we look forward to delivering cutting edge products and services".

"This is our first foray into Ghana and we have been nicely surprised by the country and the focus on investing in healthcare infrastructure projects, which the UK has a proud and excellent track record in.

"We have already started working with the several stakeholders involved in this project to deliver the best healthcare facilities that that this wonderful country deserves. Cteq looks forward to doing a lot more exciting projects in Ghana," he said.

Also at the event, a mini exhibition show was mounted by Ghanaians MSEs under the UK's Enhancing Growth in New Enterprises (ENGINE).

ENGINE, a multi-year project implemented by TechnoServe with funding from the UK Government seeks to equip MSEs with the the necessary skills and resources to improve their business plans and internal operations, while creating a thriving community of entrepreneurs through increases access to business development services and financial services of MSEs.

Mr Alan John Kyerematen, Ghana's Minister for Trade and Industry, and Mr Jon Benjamin, British High Commissioner to Ghana conducted Mr Boris Johnson around the exhibition show.