The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has directed the contractor working on the Accra-Tema Motorway Extension Project, Maripoma Enterprise Limited, to adopt round-the-clock operations to minimise traffic disruptions caused by the ongoing construction.
The minister said activities likely to cause significant inconvenience to motorists should be scheduled primarily at night, while adequate lanes are maintained for public use during the day.
Mr. Agbodza made the call during an inspection of the project, which seeks to expand the motorway to 10 lanes.
He commended the contractor for increasing activities at the site but urged the company to accelerate the pace of work by taking advantage of the government’s 24-hour economy policy.
“I have noticed an increase in activities on site, which is very good. However, I want to encourage you to increase that further. A project like this elsewhere will be done 24/7,” he said.
“There’s no reason you cannot work even more in the night than during the day. I’m encouraging you to take more advantage of the President’s 24-hour economy to do more of the disruptive works at night and rather scale down during the day.”
Dedicated lanes for motorists
The minister also instructed the contractor to provide dedicated lanes for motorists during the day to reduce the impact of construction on commuters.
He said the prolonged traffic disruptions associated with the project had become a major concern for road users and urged the contractor to complete the work within the agreed timeframe.
“I want you to also make available dedicated lanes for the public to use during the day. This is very critical to us,” Mr. Agbodza said.
“We are hopeful that you can complete this project on schedule because the public can’t understand why they have to go through this painful experience for a period. Please make sure you complete the project on time.”
Project reaches 50% completion
Mr. Agbodza disclosed that the project had reached approximately 50% completion, describing the progress as encouraging but insisting that more needed to be done.
He urged the contractor to take advantage of the favourable weather conditions to accelerate foundation works and other critical components of the project.
“Now you have done about 50% of the work, which is good, but you can do more. Take advantage of this weather to work quickly on the foundation works, among others,” he said.
The minister acknowledged the contractor’s performance in earthworks but called for greater momentum in the coming months.
Government assures contractors of funding
Mr. Agbodza, who is also the Member of Parliament for Adaklu, said the government remained committed to ensuring that contractors received the funds needed to execute their projects.
He noted that the government had so far paid more than GH¢33 billion to road contractors, with a significant portion going towards settling inherited arrears.
He cited the Ofankor project as an example, explaining that the government inherited an outstanding debt of about GH¢78 million on the project and had since settled the amount.
“Government has so far paid over GH¢33 billion to road contractors, and the bulk of that is the arrears. If you notice, your project on Ofankor we inherited, but there was an outstanding debt of GH¢78 million, which we have paid,” he said.
The minister, who had previously raised concerns about the slow pace of work on the motorway extension, commended Maripoma Enterprise Limited for improving its performance but maintained that the contractor must sustain the momentum to deliver the project on schedule.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
