President Nana Akufo Addo on Tuesday commissioned the Tamale Interchange, a fourth interchange commissioned by the NPP Government since 2017.

It will be recalled that Akufo Addo on 10th April 2019, cut sod for the construction of the Tamale Interchange, the first interchange in the northern sector of the country as part of the Government of Ghana – SinoHydro Master Project Support Agreement.

“I am delighted to be back again, this time, on my birthday, to commission the Tamale Interchange, which has been completed three (3) months ahead of schedule and on budget, in the midst of a global pandemic which has brought considerable disruption to every phase of national life,” President Akufo-Addo said

He continued, “the Tamale Interchange is the fourth interchange constructed since I came into office, following the completion of the Tema Motorway Phase 1 Interchange, Obetsebi Lamptey Phase1 Interchange and the 4-tier Pokuase Interchange”.

The Tamale Interchange is a pre-stressed concrete continuous bridge, with very few joints to enhance driving comfort. It has involved the construction of some 1.1 kilometres of roads on the Interchange, the provision of good drainage systems, the erection of streetlights, and ten (10) kilometres of asphaltic overlay around the Interchange.

Constructed by M/S Sinohydro, the Tamale Interchange has provided prime urban space under the Interchange, which, the President said, has to be put to good use for the benefit of the country.

Akufo-Addo told the gathering, including the Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, and Ya-Naa Mahama Abukari II, that under the Sinohydro project, Government signed a Master Project Support Agreement (MPSA) with Sinohydro for the delivery of US$2 billion worth of priority infrastructure projects across the country, in exchange for the delivery of Ghanaian manufactured aluminium products to Sinohydro.

“This has led, inter alia, to the establishment of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), a statutory public corporation, to oversee the development of the exploitation of the full value chain of our bauxite resources, so we can have a vibrant aluminium industry in Ghana, and ensure that we live up to our end of the barter transaction. This innovative arrangement, the first of its kind on the continent, is not going to add to our country’s debt stock,” the President said.

This Interchange, according to him, is a good example of the excellent relations that the Republic of Ghana enjoys with the People’s Republic of China.

“May these relations long endure, and I thank the President of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, for his birthday wishes. I would respectfully ask the Chinese Ambassador to inform the President that I have received his message with happiness,” he added.