The 900-meter road-over-bridge project at Afienya in the Greater Accra area was officially opened by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday.
The overbridge was built as a component of the 97.9 km standard-gauge rail line project in the Eastern Region from Tema to Mpakadan.
The project was designed in the early 2000s by the then-Kufour Administration as a component of an intermodal transportation system that included road, rail, and lake transit to ease the flow of people and freight from the southern half of the country to the northern sector.
The project, according to President Akufo-Addo, is a significant step in the nation’s effort to improve and extend its infrastructure.
Currently, domestic and transit freight is transported by road via Kumasi, Tamale, Bolgatanga, Navrongo, and Paga from Accra, Tema to Northern Ghana and then on to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
The President expressed concern about the nation’s overreliance on its road system.
He said that the absence of alternate modes of transportation, particularly between Accra and Kumasi, had led to congestion, rapid degradation of the roads, and a spike in traffic accidents.
He said that the initiative was a component of plans to build a multimodal transportation connection along the Volta Lake between Tema and Buipe.
The 96% finished project was financed by a credit line Ghana was given by the Exim Bank of India.
It is anticipated to be finished by the end of March 2019.
The execution of the project, according to President Akufo-Addo, is evidence of the close historical links between Ghana and India.
According to him, the project will correct the disparity between long-distance transit and domestic freight movement from Accra, Tema, and the North to the South via the Volta lake transportation system.
Additionally, the project will lower the cost of freight transportation and increase safety while enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the Tema Port.
Additionally, it would reduce the expense of shipping goods and conducting business in Ghana.
“This project will not only increase the amount of transit freight passing through the Volta lake, but it will also increase domestic shipping to and from the lake and support local businesses and agriculture.”
When the project is completely operational, it would connect Tema Port to the lake transportation network, particularly the North-South movement, across a 400 km distance, according to him.
It would make it possible to transport agricultural products and containerized freight from the Northern enclave in the Afram plains to the port of Tema and other locations using the Volta Lake.
The project is anticipated to relieve some of the strain on the road system, particularly the Eastern Corridor, which is now undergoing active development.
Additionally, it would reduce the price of moving big goods and offer economical, dependable alternatives for people not covered by the corridor’s road transportation network.
The project’s development pleased President Akufo-Addo, who asked the contractors, Messrs AFCONS Infrastructure Limited of India, to finish the unfinished work on time.
He toured the New Afienya railway station before inspecting an additional 300 meters of the Senchi rail bridge that crosses the Volta lake.