Cape Coast, Nov. 08, GNA - Work would soon commence on a 19.2 billion cedis hostel project being undertaken by the Students' Representative Council (SRC) of University of Cape Coast (UCC) at Akotokyir.

The project expected to be completed within 24 months, is being financed with a loan from Prudential Bank Limited to be repaid over seven and-a-half years from rents.

It comprises 488 rooms including executive rooms, a basket ball court, cyber caf=E9, a library, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a salon and a car park.

Reverend Professor Emmanuel Adow Obeng, Vice Chancellor of UCC who cut the sod for work to begin on Wednesday, appealed to financial institutions especially the banks to relax their rules and invest in the provision of accommodation for university students.

He said only about 40 per cent of students at the university were being accommodated by the authorities, it was therefore imperative for stakeholders to support the universities to accommodate students. The Vice Chancellor, commended the past and present SRC members for initiating the project, saying it was 93a dream come true and another milestone in the history=94 of students of UCC and signified the importance of cooperation between students and university authorities. He urged them to endeavour to work together with the university authorities 93to enable UCC fly high=94 and called on the in-coming SRC Executive not to abandon the project.

Rev. Prof Obeng stressed that it was incumbent on them and subsequent members to continue the project, and advised that appropriate rents should be charged to enable them re-pay the loan. He appealed to the Central Regional Coordinating Council to tar the Abura-Akotokyir road because two hostels built by GETFUND and Cape Coast Municipal Assembly were located in the area.

Mr Peter Jackson Wadja, SRC President said to facilitate early repayment of the loan and reduce accommodation problem facing students, the SRC had asked the contractor to endeavour to complete the rooms early so that students could be accommodated next academic year. He said the SRC was negotiating to purchase a 51-seater Mercedes Benz bus to make movement to and from the hostel easier for students. Mr Wadja expressed appreciation to the immediate-past SRC Executives for initiating the project and the bank for its support and appealed to other stakeholders that 93have education at heart=94 to emulate the bank's gesture.

Mr Joe Frank Kofie, the contractor gave the assurance that it would be completed on schedule.