The Ministry of Roads and Highways has approved a proposal by contractors of the four-tier Pokuase interchange for an extension of the completion date of the project from 2020 to April 2021.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on August 2, 2019, assured that the project will be completed in 2020.

However, the Resident Engineer of the Pokuase interchange, Ing. Kwabena Bempong has indicated that the contractors cannot meet the projected date.

In an interview with Citi News, Ing. Bempong explained that “the new extension date is April 4, 2021.”

He explained that “the reason for the extension is to give enough room for the massive drainage works to ensure that we do not have flooding after the project is completed. We have the Ayawaso drains and others, almost 5km of storm drains. We are also to provide terminals for trotro and taxis. We have sent a proposal to the Ministry to include such facilities in our project so there will be no challenge after the project is completed.”

The Resident Engineer also indicated that work on the project was affected by the coronavirus pandemic which resulted in a delay of the shipment of some critical components for the interchange.

“The COVID-19 pandemic also slowed down the work. Most of the materials needed to execute the project delayed in arriving because of the strict lockdown in China in the early days of the pandemic. The pandemic also affected human resources as some contractors expected to come down from China were unable to do so,” he added.

The $94 million project is expected to ease traffic congestion, improve urban mobility, and benefit agro-industries located within the project zone.

The government is jointly funding the project with the African Development Bank.

The project is being undertaken by Zhongmei Engineering Group Limited, with Messrs Associated Consultants Limited (ACON) and the Bigen Group.

Source: Citinewsroom.com