Construction works on a major road that links the Eastern Region to the Central Region is progressing earnestly as commuters, Farmers, Traders and Residents of small towns within the enclave express delight about the development.
The 15- kilometers road connects Adeiso, the capital of Upper West Akim District in the Eastern Region to Bawjiase in the Awutu Senya District in the Central Region.
The project is being executed by General Construction and Development Ltd and it is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
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Officials of the Company have assured that barring any unforeseen circumstances, the project would be completed within schedule.
The road, according to commuters, has been in a deplorable state for the past couple of years, compelling motorists to meander through what could be termed as ‘manholes’ before getting to their various destinations amidst dust and other inconveniences.
When Public Agenda visited the construction site recently, there were evidences of massive resource investment in the project by General Construction and Development Ltd, indicating the Company’s drive to execute a quality job.
Works on Drains, Bridges and gravelling are being done to ensure the project meets the timelines.
In an interview with Public Agenda, Mr Stephen Kwame Quaye, District Chief Executive of Awutu Senya District Assembly stressed the project is a big step towards expanding socio-economic activities in an area, which had not seen any major facelift of its road networks for so many years.
Mr Quaye indicated that the reconstruction of the road would bring a huge economic boost andalso facilitate trade and marketing amongst the people in the districts, while bringing relief to commuters and drivers.
He pointed out that government has kept to its promise of constructing and tarring the Bawjiase- Adeiso road and beyond to facilitate the transportation of goods and services.
He expressed delight about the intensity at which General Construction and Development Ltd is implementing the project, noting thatper what he has observed so far, the project would be excellently executed and would be completed within schedule in order to bring respite to the people.
He added, “I am very happy with the way the contractor is working; I like the whirlwind speed at which they are working and the Assembly has been giving the contractor all the necessary support that he needs.
“We will continue to give them the support they need till the project is completed.” Mr Aquaye assured.
He told Public Agenda that on completion, the project would ease the difficulties farmers experience in transporting their produce from other parts of the country to one of the oldest and biggest market centers in the Central Region.
According to him, beyond theBawjiase- Adeiso Road, another firm is constructing the road from Bawjiase to Agona-Swedru to facilitate commercial activities.
Mr Ernest Boateng, a resident of Nsuobri, a village near Bawjiase narrated to Public Agendahow he and other inhabitants of the community have suffered from the inhalation of dust over the years due to the previous state of the road.
According to him, the development would enable farmers in the locality to transport their farm produce to either the Adeiso or the Bawjiase market which they were reluctant to do because of the bad nature of the road.
He was excited that the project has provided jobs to some of his friend in the area and that for him is a good thing. He commended the government and the Contractor in particular for fast tracking the project.
The Government in November last year announced
its intention to embark on a massive road construction project in 2020,
describing the coming year as “The Year of Roads.”
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, made the
announcement in Parliament on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, as he presented the
2020 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Akufo-Addo’s administration.
The announcement came after days of violent
protests in some parts of Ghana over poor road networks.
At the time, the Minister indicated that Government had identified critical roads across each of the 16 regions and construction would begin on all these critical roads soon.
He added that “Cocobod had also secured funds to continue with ongoing and new cocoa roads.”
He said, “As part of our new initiative to complement the traditional execution of road projects, we have launched the Accelerated Community Road Improvement Initiative.”
By Mohammed Suleman
