Dr Prince Amuzu, Akatsi North District Chief Executive (DCE) has cut sod for the construction of an ultramodern central market for the district, to be funded with its share of government's One Million Dollars per Constituency programme.

The market would include 20-seater open market sheds, 15-unit lockable stores, a slaughterhouse, lorry station, and a two-unit kindergarten school block with ancillary facilities, bringing construction costs to about GHC 800,000.

The project would be executed by Vislah Construction Works Limited, would be served by a ten-seater solar-powered water closet toilet facility, and a mechanised borehole.

The DCE said the market would serve the numerous farming communities in the enclave, boost economic activities and help the Assembly rake in more Internally Generated Funds (IGF).

He said food production in the district was on the increase, due to government's Planting for Food and Jobs programme, and that the market had been planned to suit an expanding food production industry.

Dr Amuzu also said increased production has attracted two investors to the area seeking to establish tomato and pineapple processing factories under its One-District-One-Factory initiative.

He said access roads to farming communities were being given the needed priority and detailed a number of projects ongoing to make the district suitable for the impending industrialization programme.

The sod cutting coincided with a first quarterly "Meet the Press" series, and the DCE enumerated a total of 27 development projects varying from school infrastructure, water, sanitation, health, and roads.

He said the district, which was investing in cashew and oil palm under the "Rearing for Export and Rural Development" programme, has been given out 50,000 cashew seedlings to farmers for no fee.

A total of 2,520 seedlings of oil palm has been distributed, and added that pens had been constructed for goats and sheep in six communities in the district, an intervention which falls under the "Rearing for Food and Jobs".

He said an enhanced revenue mobilisation team had shot up IGF, which had helped the Assembly provide the needed interventions in security and tourism.