The Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Nasir Ahmed Yartey, has attributed the delays in completing various road interchanges across the country to the impact of both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
Among the significant interchanges affected by these challenges are the Obetsebi Lamptey interchange, Flower Pot Interchange, Tema Motorway interchange, Nungua Barrier Interchange, Kumasi Suame Interchange, and the Takoradi PTC interchange, which is currently approximately 75 percent complete.
In an interview with the media on Monday, Mr. Yartey explained, “the Flower Pot interchange is on schedule to be completed. The major hurdle now is the construction of the bridge over the motorway. We issued a press release on it this morning, and work is going on over there very seriously. Once we are done with the construction of the bridge over the motorway, what will be left will be the groundwork, road work, and other things.
“Those ones don’t take much time. The concrete ones don’t take much time, so once we are done with that one, we should be finishing that project on schedule. The project is scheduled to be completed early next year, so we are looking at somewhere by the end of the first quarter or the second quarter of next year”.
Mr. Yartey mentioned that the Flower Pot interchange is expected to be completed by the end of March 2024, with the primary challenge being the construction of the bridge over the motorway. Once this bridge is finished, the remaining tasks should be completed relatively quickly.
He stated, “The Flower Pot interchange is on track for completion. The main obstacle now is the construction of the bridge over the motorway. We issued a press release on this matter this morning, and work is progressing there diligently. Once the bridge over the motorway is completed, the remaining tasks such as groundwork and road work won’t take much time.”
Mr. Yartey added that concrete work typically progresses swiftly, and as such, the project is scheduled to be completed early next year, likely by the end of the first or second quarter of the year.
The Head of PR at the Ministry of Roads and Highways emphasized that the DDEP had impacted the progress of the Obetsebi-Lamptey interchange, Nungua, and PTC interchanges.
He mentioned that the government is presently engaged in negotiations with its financiers to find a way to resume these projects.
He concluded, “The Obetsebi-Lamptey interchange, along with Nungua and PTC in Takoradi, have been affected by the debt exchange program we’ve entered into. As I speak to you, the government is in discussions with its financiers to explore how we can revive these projects. We are hopeful that by the end of the year, we will have positive news and contractors back on site.”