Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital project stalled by $1.6m legal dispute

Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), has revealed that the construction of a critical Sickle Cell and Blood Bank project has been stalled since 2022. Speaking before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on October 8, 2025, Dr. Baidoo explained that a $1.6 million legal dispute between the project’s sponsor, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and the contractor has brought all work to a standstill. The facility is intended to provide essential services to sickle cell patients and improve blood storage capacity at the Kumasi-based teaching hospital, serving as a vital hub for the Ashanti Region.

The project is a collaborative effort involving the GNPC and the Ghana Sickle Cell Foundation. However, disagreements between the corporation and the construction firm resulted in a legal impasse that has prevented any progress for over three years. Dr. Baidoo informed the committee that the contractor initiated the lawsuit, which has effectively locked the site and halted physical development. While KATH is not a direct party to the legal proceedings, the hospital management has been urging both GNPC and the contractor to resolve their differences to allow construction to resume, as the facility remains in an unfinished and deteriorating state.

The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Abena Osei-Asare, expressed significant dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation. During the session, she pressed Dr. Baidoo for evidence of formal correspondence or active mediation efforts by the hospital to break the deadlock. Osei-Asare criticized the apparent lack of documentation regarding KATH’s intervention, warning that the prolonged delay is not only denying patients vital care but will also likely lead to inflated completion costs due to current economic conditions and the potential need for remedial work on the idle structure.

Despite the current challenges, KATH officials maintain that they are committed to seeing the project through to completion. The resolution of the $1.6 million dispute remains the primary obstacle to resuming work on the site. As the hospital continues to engage with GNPC, the PAC has signaled that it will monitor the situation closely to ensure that public funds already invested in the project are protected and that the facility eventually serves its intended purpose of enhancing specialized healthcare services in Ghana.