Accra, March 10, GNA - Parliament on Friday voted to grant exemption from the payment of taxes, levies and fees on plant, medical equipment, construction materials, vehicles and other accessories needed for the construction of the Gushiegu District Hospital.

The total cost of the exemption amounts to 2.436 million Euros. According to a Finance Committee report; the Minister of Finance made the request to the House in accordance with the Constitution. The exemption was the main condition of a grant element of 6.973 million Euros sourced from the ORET Grant Offer.

"In order for the Government of Ghana to access the grant, the project is to be exempted from payment of duties, taxes (VAT) levies and fees that may be imposed in the Republic of Ghana for materials, equipment and services."

The element combined with 10.202 million Euros loan sourced from the Fortis Bank of the Netherlands to make up a package of 17.176 million Euros needed for the construction of the facility that could serve about 135,000 people.

Members of the Finance Committee, according to the report, expressed concern about some of the items submitted for tax exemption. They were of the view that furniture for the living room, cement and clothing could be bought on the local market.

The project includes the installation of laboratory facilities, Radiology and Blood Bank, Diagnostic facilities and Gynaecology. Other Facilities and services are Ophthalmology and Paediatrics, In-patient care, two detached medical officers' flats and sixteen nurses' quarters.

The Hospital is expected to serve as a supplementary training health facility for the University of Development Studies' Medical School