Central Bank’s headquarters relocation to Ridge justified by Geological Authority due to seismic concerns
Acting Director General of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority, Isaac Mwinbelle, has provided the reasoning behind the need for the Bank of Ghana to relocate from its current position to Ridge, citing seismic concerns.
In an interview with GBC News, Mr Mwinbelle explained that although the Bank of Ghana’s current location hasn’t experienced any seismic activity yet, a recent tremor occurred in Jamestown, which is closer to the bank’s location.
According to him, the Central Bank has conducted a structural integrity assessment and has decided to construct the new headquarters building at Ridge to withstand potential earth tremors. He emphasized the importance of the bank’s move as a step towards ensuring the safety of the building, its staff, and its resources.
He also mentioned that the Ridge location is better positioned in terms of safety, being further away from offshore areas.
Mr Mwinbelle elaborated on the earthquake-prone nature of the coastal region of Ghana, particularly the eastern part around Accra. He pointed out that this area is prone to earthquakes due to fault lines running through it, with the most prominent ones located within the Kokrobite, Weija, and Dansoman areas.
While these fault lines haven’t caused significant tremors in the past, Mr Mwinbelle emphasized that this doesn’t guarantee the absence of future tremors. Therefore, he commended the Central Bank’s proactive approach in assessing the suitability of their current location.
“Generally, the coastal part of Ghana, most basically the eastern part, which is Accra, is an earthquake prone zone and this earthquake occur as a result of fault lines. The coastal parts of Ghana has a number of fault lines that passes through the area, but the prominent ones which have for the period produce some substantial earth tremors and earthquakes are the fault lines that are within the Kokrobite, Weija and Dansoman area and most of the earthquakes that have occurred over the period is as a result of the movement along these fault line.”
“The latest one, which was the 10th of March this year, if you look at the epicenter, it was close to Jamestown, meaning that it’s moving towards the current location of the Bank of Ghana. There are fault zones in these areas, but they have not produced any substantial Earth tremor, but it doesn’t mean that there cannot be an earth tremor along those fault lines, and for that matter, if Bank of Ghana is being proactive by doing an assessment to find out whether the current location is suitable for a Central Bank or not, I think it is a plus for them because they must ensure the safety of the bank, the safety of the staff, as well as the safety of whatever is contained in there,” he said.
He further explained that earthquakes in the region have historically occurred offshore in the sea. Comparatively, Ridge is farther from the coastline than the current High Street location, reducing the potential impact of lateral displacement caused by seismic events.
Mr Mwinbelle further emphasized the importance of conducting thorough site or ground investigations before constructing buildings to determine if the chosen area has active fault lines that could affect structural integrity.
For the new headquarters building, Mr Mwinbelle mentioned that the risk department of the Central Bank has taken recent seismic events into consideration and will likely construct the building with reinforcements to withstand potential earthquakes. This consideration involves factoring in ground acceleration and other seismic parameters to ensure the building’s safety.
In all, Mr Mwinbelle supports the Central Bank’s decision to relocate to Ridge as a proactive measure to ensure the safety of the bank’s infrastructure, personnel, and resources in the face of potential seismic events.
The new Central Bank headquarters in Ridge, is estimated to cost soe $250m.
