President John Dramani Mahama has cut the sod for Oxygen City, a flagship housing and mixed-use development by Tema Development Company (TDC) Ghana Limited in Ho, framing the project as a decisive step in reshaping Ghana’s urban growth and correcting long-standing regional imbalances.
Addressing the sod-cutting ceremony in the Volta Region, the President said the project represents more than the launch of another housing estate, describing it as a statement of intent to deliver inclusive development and ensure that every region receives a fair share of national investment. He said dignified housing remains a central pillar of the government’s reset agenda and a measure of national progress.
Housing, according to him, is fundamental to human dignity, economic productivity and social stability, and must no longer be treated as a privilege reserved for a few. Under the reset agenda, government is rethinking how Ghana plans and builds its cities, with an emphasis on integrated, well-planned communities rather than fragmented developments.
The President said Oxygen City demonstrates what is possible when state institutions, traditional authorities and the private sector work together. Through such partnerships, land can be responsibly unlocked, planning standards enforced and communities created to support housing, transport, commerce, social services and environmental sustainability.
The siting of the project in Ho, he noted, was a deliberate policy choice. Development, he stressed, must not remain concentrated in a few enclaves, adding that national growth must be regional, equitable and purposeful. He pointed to the country’s housing deficit, particularly among young professionals and public sector workers, and said addressing it requires housing to be delivered alongside roads, water, sanitation, schools, healthcare and economic opportunities.
Oxygen City, according to the president, responds directly to this challenge, serving as an integrated urban development and an investment catalyst that will expand housing supply, attract domestic and foreign investment, create jobs and strengthen the Volta economic corridor.
The President described the project as historic, noting that it is the first major development undertaken by TDC outside the Tema acquisition area since the company was established under Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah. With TDC’s existing 26 communities in Tema, the Ho development has been designated Community 27.
He announced that additional residential units will be developed by the State Housing Company within the project area, and revealed plans to replicate the Oxygen City model in the Ashanti Region, where land has been secured for what will become TDC Community 28.
