Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, On Monday, Patrick Boamah, has announced that the government is seeking parliamentary approval for a $338 million loan agreement for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Accra-Tema motorway and other roads across the country.
Moreover, the facility is earmarked to finance the rehabilitation of the existing six-lane divided Nsawam highway within a timeframe of 36 months. Boamah provided these details during a press briefing in Accra.
Regarding the scope of work, he said, “The Accra-Tema motorway alone is 19.5 kilometres, but this project is 27.7 kilometres, so one may ask, where are you getting the remainder from? The entire project is divided into three sections. The first section is the Accra-Tema Motorway, which is 19.5 kilometres, and it is going to be the rehabilitation and expansion of a minimum of 10 lanes on the motorway… Then, the second section is N1, the George Walker Bush highway, and the scope is 5.7 kilometres… Then the third scope is the Nsawam road, rehabilitation of the existing six lanes on the Nsawam road.”
“…So this is the scope of work that is going to happen. So you can tell from what I have told you that it is going to be a very comprehensive program that will span about 3 years or more depending on how the project goes. And it is going to be a joint venture between Maripoma Limited and Ghana Infrastructure Fund.”
On November 15, Finance Minister Mr Ofori-Atta revealed that “preparation for the reconstruction of the Accra-Tema Motorway under the Road Sector’s Public Private Partnerships (PPP) with Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) is on course.”
The Concession Agreement and draft Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement, he noted, have been approved by Cabinet and will be submitted to Parliament for approval “shortly.”
The Accra-Tema motorway is currently filled with potholes, which has led to several road accidents and adversely impacted the durability of cars on the road. As such, many called on the Ministry of Roads to take charge and have the challenges addressed.
The Finance Minister noted that the government’s infrastructure progamme will also be anchored on strong private sector collaboration.
“Government will continue to pursue the Mining Sector Roads rehabilitation projects to improve the road network in mining communities,” he added.