Veep cuts sod for construction of Kumasi Inner City Road project

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, last Friday cut the sod for the construction of 100 kilometres of road network in the Ashanti Region as part of the first phase of the Synohydro Master Support Project Agreement.

The project, which forms part of the Kumasi Inner City Roads Project, will see 145 selected roads in beneficiary districts and communities upgraded and asphalted.

Some of the beneficiary communities are Kwadaso, Manhyia, Bantama, Suame, Asokwa, Oforikrom, Effiduase and New Tafo.

Dr Bawumia said the project was expected to be completed within a 30-month period, and that it would further improve on the road network in the region.

He said the government was committed to improving the road network in the country, especially in the Ashanti Region, as it was one of the regions with poor road networks.

Asphalted

So far, he said, 227km of roads had been asphalted, with some of the beneficiary communities being Nhyiaeso, Bantama, Suame and Oforikrom.

According to him, from now till the end of 2024, an additional 400km of roads in the region would be asphalted as part of efforts to improve on the road network in the region and the country as a whole.

He cited some ongoing projects to indicate the government’s commitment to improve the living conditions of the people in the region. They include the Kumasi Roads and Drainage System which, he said, were about 80 per cent complete.

Project

That project included the upgrading of the Lake Road with a dual carriageway from the Coca Cola Bottling Plant to Dompoase, a distance of 3.5km, he said.

Dr Bawumia said the first 100km of inner city roads in Kumasi, which was started last year, was about 96 per cent complete, adding that he was hopeful that by the end of April this year, the contractor would have finished with the project.

The 30 km long Anwhiankwanta-Obuasi road, according to the Vice-President, was about 90 per cent complete and should be completed before the end of the year.

Appeal

While expressing his appreciation to the people of China and Synohydro “for the cooperation that has existed between the two countries and the work we have been able to do together”, he appealed to the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana to get the dualisation of the Adenta-Dodowa road project started.

He said that project meant a lot to the people of the Greater Accra Region and expressed the hope that it would soon come on stream to alleviate the plight of residents of that area.

Fair share

For his part, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, gave an assurance that the people of the Ashanti Region would get their fair share of roads, adding that the government would not forget them.

According to him, the region was dear to the government, and as such it would ensure that it got its fair share of the national cake.

So far, he said, the government had, since assuming power in 2017, improved on the road infrastructure in the region. He said 39 per cent of the road network was now in good condition.