[rev_slider alias="Embrace Innovative Technologies Towards Developing Smarter Cities - Abdulai Abanga"]
The Deputy Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Abdulai Abanga has urged players in the built industry to start considering green building solutions as part of a drive to develop smart cities in the country. The use of such innovative technologies that hinge on clean and sustainable energy options, he said, will be key to safeguarding the environment in the current climatic situation.
The Deputy Minister made these observations at the Ghana Green Ghana Summit, which was under the theme; ‘Rethinking Operations Management for High-Performance Building’ in Accra.
Considering that Ghana finds itself within the tropical regions, the Deputy Minister said stakeholders in the built fraternity must be able to develop passive building designs that can minimize heat entry into buildings to allow for natural ventilation and ultimately reduce the need for cooling which accounts for the biggest source of energy consumption in buildings.
He hinted that the Ministry of Works and Housing had instituted the needed regulatory framework to guide the achievement of green building solutions, create the enabling environment and establish the platform for good green building practices.
Hon Abanga indicated that the Ghana Building Code which sets out the requirements and recommendations for efficiency standards for residential and non-residential buildings is currently being used in the built environment. To effectively operationalize the Code, he said the Ministry has initiated the processes for the review of the Building Regulations LI 1630 (1996), which have a section dedicated to Green Building Regulations.
The Deputy Minister further stated that the Ministry has commenced processes to establish a National Housing Authority whose mandate shall include, leading the government’s sustainable housing development while exercising regulatory oversight over the activities of the sector. This, he said, would better advance the country’s quest for the development of green buildings and sustainable solutions for the built environment.
Hon. Abanga commended the Yecham Property Consult, the organizer of the Summit, for the immense contribution they are making towards expanding dialogue on green building and sustainable development of the built environment in the country.
Mr. Cyril Nii Ayitey Tetteh, the Summit founder and the Executive Director of Yecham Property Consult said the summit aimed to reduce the negative impact of real estate projects on the environment whilst conserving natural resources to have the desired impact and create awareness of the need to develop designs that maximize energy-saving and minimize construction costs by using less energy and water.