Korea halts $1Billion concessional loan meant to support 10 projects in Ghana

The Korean government has hold on to a 1 billion dollar concessional loan aid meant to support about 10 projects in the country, Korea Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Lim Jung-Taek has disclosed.

He said the projects which includes, the Volta River Improvement Transportation Project, Techiman Water Project, Expansion works on the University of Environment and Sustainable Development among others, will not receive funding for it’s commencement due to Ghana’s agreement with the IMF.

Mr Jung-Taek said this last week Friday at a seminar in Accra, organised by the Korean International Cooperation Agency in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ghana.

The programme themed, “leveraging Korea’s socio- economic growth for sustainable development in Ghana” brought together economic experts, policymakers, academics, and industry leaders from both Korea and Ghana to share valuable insights and best practices to improving Ghanaian economy.

Mr Jung-Taek said, although it’s unfortunate for Ghana to be under IMF programme, Ghana need to adopt Korea’s innovation ecosystem by building big data platforms, providing AI learning data, and enhancing education infrastructure.

He said despite Ghana’s economic challenges, the government of Korea had increased its grant aid to more than 60 per cent to address the economic challenges facing the Ghanaian economy.

Mr Jung-Taek added that the Korea government prioritize the economic friendship between the two countries, and had supported Ghana in areas of health, transport, agriculture to improving the socio economic of Ghana.

“Ghana, like Korea, has also embarked on its own transformative journey towards sustainable development.
Both nations share a deep understanding of the challenges faced by the global community and the importance of leveraging knowledge and expertise for the betterment of our societies.What I have personally witnessed during my service here in Ghana is that, like Koreans, Ghanaians don’t hesitate to learn new technology and are eager to accept high quality international standards” he said.

The Country Director of KOICA Ghana, Mr. Seugnmin Oh said, the cooperation between Korea and Ghana has a rich history, built on the foundations of friendship, understanding, and a mutual commitment to socio-economic development.

He said the two countries had built strong ties that had allowed them to learn from each other’s experiences, leveraging the lessons from Korea’s remarkable growth story and adapting them to the unique context of Ghana.

BY BERNARD BENGHAN