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PARLIAMENT HAS unanimously approved a �40 million loan facility to improve the infrastructure of four urban cities and metropolitan areas with the aim of providing access to essential services and promoting economic activities among others. The beneficiary areas are the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ho and Tamale; and activities to be carried out under the facility include the construction of markets, roads, landfill sites and abattoirs. The loan agreement, which is between the government of Ghana and Agence Francaise de Development (AfD), is to further support the Ghana Urban Management Pilot Project (GUMPP). Before the approval of the loan, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah urged his colleagues to support the agreement since it will help improve the living conditions of people in the selected cities, particularly Sekondi-Takoradi. He was hopeful that the Kokompe Road in the Takoradi metropolis, which he noted is in a deplorable state, will benefit from the loan to promote the economic activities of artisans and traders in the area. In addition to this, the Finance Committee of Parliament chaired by James Klutse Avedzi has been informed that there is the need to construct a bigger and more modern haulage transport terminal in Sekondi-Takoradi. This is as a result of the fledgling oil industry in the twin-city and the ever-increasing number of haulage trucks that ply the area to convey timber and cocoa beans from the hinterland to the port of Takoradi. A report of the Finance Committee observed that the objective of the GUMPP indicated that apart from improving the living conditions of people living in the selected cities, it will also reinforce the capacities for service delivery and accountability by designing a strategic, realistic and practical urban management project for each city. It is expected that the GUMPP will improve urban planning, street naming, property valuation and revenue mobilization in cities and introduce computer based mapping among others in the four cities. All these including the creation of property registries with computerized land registration, according to the Finance Committee, will increase collection of Internally Generated Funds (IGFs) at the Assemblies thereby enhancing the financially autonomy of the cities. On his plans for other cities that will not benefit from this facility, the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo assured the Committee that a facility is being arranged to cater for about 40 other municipalities in the country.