The Koforidua Youth Resource Centre has become the first of ten multi-purpose Youth Resource Centres to be commissioned.
The commissioning of the project was led by the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday, December 27.
The event also saw the presence of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, the CEO of the National Youth Agency (NYA), Pius Enam Hadzide, President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, among others.
Speaking at the commissioning, Enam Hadzide said, “The facility you see here is not mainly a sports complex. We must fully appreciate its worth and essence to us and therefore acknowledge government’s unwavering dedication to developing the potentials of Ghanaian youth.”
“Our first order of business as beneficiaries of this project is by collectively ensuring its optimal utilisation. To ensure sustainability, the governing board of the National Youth Authority (NYA) had to leverage the services of third-party facility managers to manage and oversee the regular and proper maintenance and usage of the facility.”
The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Acheampong, also reiterated the desire to sustain the facility for a long period by consulting stakeholders to draw a maintenance plan.
“With regard to the Koforidua Youth Resource Centre, we wish to reassure you that we will take appropriate steps to ensure proper maintenance of the facility at all times so as to serve its useful purpose,” he added.
The edifice comprises a FIFA-standard football pitch, a nine-lane athletic track, and versatile courts for tennis, basketball, handball, and volleyball.
The facility also includes a modern gymnasium, counselling centre, information technology hub, entrepreneurship centre, and a contemporary restaurant, providing a holistic environment for physical and intellectual development.
The government of Ghana through the then Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah, cut sod for the building of ten multi-purpose Youth Resource Centres across all parts of the country in 2018.
The nine others are expected to be housed in Wa, Dormaa, Dunkwa Offin, Nyinahini, Axim, Accra, Navrongo, Yendi and Ho.