Motorway Roundabout Phase 2 project starts Sept.
The government has signed the final supplementary financial agreement with Japan for the second phase of the Tema Motorway Roundabout project.
The ¥3.369 billion grant, about $25 million equivalent to GH¢201 million, was signed between the Ghana Highway Authority and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
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This final signing paves the way for construction works to begin in September this year.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Chief Representative of JICA Ghana Office, Araki Yasumichi, signed the master agreement in Accra on October 13 last year.
A signing ceremony was organised last Thursday in Tokyo, Japan, between the construction firm, Messrs JFE Engineering Corporation, and the Ghana Highway Authority.
The Managing Director of JFE Engineering, Toru Watabiki, signed on behalf of the construction company, while the Chief Executive Officer of GHA, Christian Nti, signed on behalf of the authority.
The minister led a team of officials from the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Ghana Highway Authority and the Ghana Embassy in Japan, including Ambassador to Japan, Genevieve Edna Apaloo, to witness the bidding and negotiation process before the signing of the construction contract.
Project scope
The Phase II of the project will involve the construction of a third-tier flyover, which will be a composite bridge structure from the Harbour Road to Ashaiman on the National Highway Two (N2).
This will complete the three-tier interchange at the Tema Motorway Roundabout necessary to ease and facilitate the smooth flow of traffic.
The works involve the construction of a composite bridge and ramps and axillary road works of a total length of 1.75 kilometres between the Harbour Road and Ashaiman.
Other works are the construction of drainage and safety facilities such as crash barriers and road signs, and the installation of streetlights.
When construction starts on schedule, the project is expected to be completed in November 2024.
Signing ceremony
At the signing ceremony in Japan, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, expressed gratitude to the government and the people of Japan for their generous contribution to Ghana’s infrastructural development.
"When completed, this project will make it easier for the Tema Harbour to clear goods quickly, end traffic jams at the Tema roundabout, and improve trade integration and economic growth in the ECOWAS sub-region," the minister said.
He said the project would also lower the cost of doing business in Ghana by lowering vehicle operating costs, reduce travel time, and improve mobility.
Currently, JICA is financing the construction of the Assin Fosu to Assin Praso road works on the N8, which is being undertaken by Messrs Shimizu Dainippon.
First phase
The phase one of the project was inaugurated in June 2020.
Funded with $55.6 million Japanese grant, it involved the construction of a 2.1km three-lane dual carriageway with a 730 metres underpass and the improvement of a 1.9km two-lane dual carriageway from Ashaiman Roundabout onto the Harbour Road.