Expert calls for more attention for built environment

Renowned entrepreneur and Group Chief Executive Officer of WEL Group Holdings, Mr. Eric Eduam, is pushing for increased attention to be paid to Ghana’s built environment industry to put it at par with global trends and standards.

Mr. Eduam observed that Ghana’s built environment space, which touches on all aspects of human lives, needs to be given greater attention since “it contributes immensely to our national development”.

“The built environment space is a big deal because it has everything to do with the buildings we live in, the systems that provide us with water, electricity, roads, bridges and transportation systems that help us to move from one place to another; it includes the physical make up of where we learn, where we play, our homes, our businesses, the sidewalks, among others,” he explained.

According to Mr. Eduam, in other jurisdictions across the globe , built environment activities have been championed so well that it’s able to positively affect the national incomes of countries.

The WEL Group Boss, who is also a seasoned real estate professional, a member of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors and the Ghana Institute of Construction, maintained that the built environment industry in Ghana has great talents and professionals who – when given the opportunity – could steer the industry to greater heights.

He lamented that the professionals are usually sidelined during major infrastructure projects. The situation, he indicated had led to shoddy projects being done, with their attendant  defects and consequent danger to lives.

“The absence of broad consultations is worrying when it comes to conversations on the built environment; and for the built environment to progress and get the needed recognition at the global level, we need to tap the expertise of the experts in the field and carry them along for optimum results,” Mr. Eduam told this paper.

The WEL Group CEO observed that Ghana’s built environment industry is in the  budding stage and “gradually, we are beginning to understand what built environment means”.

“When you look at aspects of the built environment industry, such as real estate, project and infrastructure development, it has started catching up with us and people are personally investing in the space, as government makes efforts through its ministries and agencies to invest in the sector,” he stated.

Ghana’s construction sector contributed an average of 7.5 percent to annual GDP between 2013 and 2020, and following the economic slowdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector looks set to undergo sustained growth in the coming years. Infrastructure development has been an ongoing priority for Ghana’s Government, whose approach to advancing the economy has seen it funnel hydrocarbons revenue into infrastructure projects.

With over twelve years working experience in the Ghanaian business landscape, Mr. Eduam’s WEL Group oversees and operates four thriving subsidiaries in the fields of construction and real estate, projects.

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