A project to mitigate the effects of floods in Accra is to begin today.
A contract for the project, dubbed the Accra Sanitary Sewer and Storm Water Alleviation, was signed in Accra yesterday between the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on one side and Conti Group, West Africa, the contractors for  the project.
Conti Group is to prefinance the project which is expected to cost  $663,299,497million.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Collins Dauda, the Minister of Local Government  and Rural Development, Mr Kwesi Oppong Fosu, and the Chief Executive of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuiye, signed on behalf of the government while the President of Conti Group, West Africa, Mr Simon Misrach, signed on behalf of the contractors.   
The decision by the government is to tackle the problem of perennial flooding associated with heavy rains in Accra.
Over the years, the Accra Metropolis has been experiencing flooding due to seasonal rainfall. The situation which has become an annual problem does not only destroy properties running into thousands of cedis but lives are also lost.
Recently there have been major floods at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Kaneshie and Mallam.  The floods are due to choked gutters and drains which are filled with refuse.
The Accra Sanitary Sewer and Storm Water Alleviation Project was approved by Parliament in December 2012 to tackle perennial flooding in Accra.
The project is in two stages, and would be completed within five years.
The first stage of the project which begins today involves cleaning and excavating 150,000 metres of channels, and is expected to be completed in nine months.
The AMA is to provide 20 trucks and three loaders  for the waste collection.
Some of the major drainages to be tackled are the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP) interceptor area, Central Business Drainage (CBD) and Odaw Channel. 
The second phase is expected to start in December, 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2017.
During this stage,15 kilometres of storm sewer and combination sewer works would be installed.
Also, six kilometres of priority drains which would include the Mataheko drain, Mamponse drain, South Kaneshie Drain and Odorna Drain would be rehabilitated.
Some 6,300 metres of U-drain covers in the Mataheko drain and Central Business District drain are expected to be installed while incidental street upgrades would be carried out.
The existing Jamestown Waste Water Treatment Plant would be re-commissioned and upgraded, and  a 450 tonne per day waste sorting facility would also be constructed in addition to the provision of  50 public toilets.