Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that government will embark on a community roads improvement programme.
Presenting the 2023 Midyear Budget Review in Parliament on Monday, 31 July 2023, Mr Ofori-Atta explained that the programme is to increase productivity and facilitate the transportation of food crops.
Under the programme, district assemblies will be given complementary equipment to ensure that their local roads are motorable through-out the year.
The minister assured Ghanaians of government’s commitment to improving road infrastructure in line with the fiscal consolidation plan in the IMF-backed PCPEG and in partnership with the private sector.
Touching on road, interchange and bridge infrastructure across the country, the Finance Minister, noted that in order to improve mobility and accessibility as well as safety along major trunk roads, some projects are at various stages of completion.
The projects include: “Works on the 31.2km Assin Fosu-Assin Praso portion of the National Trunk Road N8 (Phase 2) completed and commissioned in June 2023; Accra-Tema Beach Road (Lot 1 and Lot 2) – 79 percent and 89 percent complete respectively; Construction of a 3-tier interchange at Nungua Barrier is ongoing; Development works on the Kumasi Lake Road and Drainage Extension project is 98 percent complete.”
Also, “selected roads in Sekondi and Takoradi Phase 1 – is 21 percent complete; Tema-Aflao road – is 30 percent complete; Nsawam-Ofankor road – is 26 percent complete; Reconstruction of Bechem-Techimantia-Akomadan road – is 64 percent complete and reconstruction of Agona Nkwanta-Tarkwa road – is 34 percent complete.”
The Finance Minister further disclosed that: “Phase 2 of the Obetsebi Lamptey Circle Interchange and other ancillary works- is 86 percent complete as at June 2023; Construction of a 4-tier interchange at Suame in the Ashanti Region – has commenced; Construction of 50 prefabricated bridges in all sixteen regions continued inn 2023 and are 86 percent complete as at end June;Design, fabrication and delivery of 87 No. steel panel bridges – is ongoing, with 45 bridges delivered; and New bridge under construction at Twifo Praso to separate vehicular traffic from the railway line – is 93 percent complete.”
He revealed that the Road Sector’s Public Private Partnerships (PPP) programme for the financing, construction and management of road infrastructure has two projects at different stages of preparation.
These include: “Phase 1 of the Accra-Tema Motorway Extension Project (31.7km) involving the reconstruction of the Motorway. The Concession Agreement and draft Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement have been finalised and will be laid in this House,” the Finance Minister stated.
While, the “Development of Tema Arterial Roads will be structured on a PPP basis using the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) model. The appraisal of the project is ongoing.”