Business News of Thursday, 2 April 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

US$2 billion Sinohydro deal to delay due to coronavirus – CDD Ghana

President Nana Akufo-Addo (2nd R) meets with visiting Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan in Accra President Nana Akufo-Addo (2nd R) meets with visiting Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan in Accra

Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) says the outbreak of covid- 19 is currently hitting Ghana’s economy as there are indications that aspects of the Sinohydro deal will be delayed.

CDD-Ghana in a press statement copied to GhanaWeb, raised concerns about the need for government to initiate socio-economic reforms to mitigate the effects of Coronavirus on the economy.

According to the statement, “as a net consumer of goods and services, any disruptions in the global economy ripples down to Ghana. Currently, there are indications that the aspects of the Sinohydro agreement will be delayed due to disruptions in the Chinese economy. Should this happen, this could have a significant `impact on the government’s development agenda.”

The Sinohydro Project is expected to bring some $2 billion, with about $1.5 billion being directed towards major road projects in the country. Four out of 10 road projects have already commenced.

The $2.billion bauxite-for-infrastructure deal was signed between Ghana and the Asian giant’s Sinohydro Company. This project was seen as very important in the government’s whole infrastructure projects for this year.

The government’s 2020 budget projected that some GH¢9.2 billion would be needed to finance its capital projects. For some, if these funds delay, it could affect the government’s finances badly for this year.

Below is the full release