Officials of Awerco Construction Limited, the contractor responsible for the Weija Children’s Hospital project, have been detained by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) following a meeting with the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, over the delayed operationalisation of the facility.
Information gathered by Citi News indicates that officials of the construction firm were invited to a meeting with the Health Minister on Friday, July 10, to discuss the completion and handover of the hospital, which has remained unused despite being structurally completed for more than two years.
Sources familiar with the meeting said government officials urged Awerco Construction Limited to hand over the facility to enable the Ministry of Health to operationalise the hospital and begin providing specialised paediatric healthcare services to the public.
However, the company reportedly declined the request, insisting that it would not hand over the facility until the outstanding balance due under the contract had been fully paid or the government provided firm assurances on when the remaining payments would be made.
According to the sources, the contractor maintained that releasing the hospital without resolving the outstanding financial obligations would be unacceptable.
Following the meeting, officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Office reportedly detained representatives of Awerco Construction Limited and transported them to the agency’s headquarters. The circumstances surrounding the detention have not yet been officially disclosed, and EOCO has not issued a statement on the matter.
The Ministry of Health has also not publicly commented on the development.
The Weija Children’s Hospital has become the subject of growing public concern after remaining unoperational despite the completion of its physical infrastructure. The 120-bed specialist hospital, located in the Weija-Gbawe Municipality, was constructed to improve access to paediatric healthcare and reduce pressure on major referral facilities, including Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital.
The facility is expected to provide specialised healthcare services for newborns, children and adolescents, with modern wards, operating theatres, intensive care units and outpatient services.
Despite the completion of the project, unresolved contractual and administrative issues, including disputes over outstanding payments and ancillary works, have delayed its commissioning and prevented the hospital from opening to the public.
The prolonged delay has attracted criticism from health stakeholders and residents, who argue that the continued closure of the hospital is denying thousands of children access to critical healthcare services while placing additional pressure on existing health facilities.
Neither EOCO nor Awerco Construction Limited has officially commented on the reported detention at the time of filing this report.
