UG to ‘cough’ $160m Judgment Debt

The University of Ghana is said to have lost an arbitration in London in relation to the Africa Integras Project and therefore expected to pay $160 million to Africa Integras as termination costs.

In July 2014, under the leadership of the then Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, the University of Ghana entered into a contract with Africa Integras, a private investment company with headquarters in New York, to construct five buildings for the university on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

The ruling in London delivers a huge image blow to the University of Ghana and a major financial loss to Ghana. The project was structured as a 25-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract.

But after the change of leadership in 2016, the new university council raised questions about the deal, particularly relating to the overall cost to the University.

The ruling therefore dismissed the two claims by the University of Ghana and awarded termination costs of more than $160 million to the project developers.

The Arbitrator is said to have rejected the UG argument that the Concession Agreement signed by the two parties was not enforceable.

University of Ghana had sought to present the agreement as not being enforceable, claiming that its own procedures followed in preparing the Concession Agreement were flawed and did not follow due process.

The Arbitrator found nothing wrong with the process followed in preparing the Concession Agreement.