Motorway reconstruction signals new era in development — Asenso-Boakye

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has said the reconstruction of the Accra-Tema Motorway signals a new era in Ghana's infrastructure development.

He said the project was both significant and historic, as it represented the first proper public-private partnership (PPP) project to be implemented in the road sector.

The sector minister was speaking last Monday when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the commencement of the project.

He said the overall objective of the project was to remove the bottlenecks on the highway to facilitate regional trade and economic integration.

The project, being undertaken by one of Ghana's indigenous contractors, Messrs Maripoma Enterprise Limited, is expected to be completed within 36 months.

The extensive project, covering a total of 27.7 kilometres, is divided into three critical sections. The first section covers the rehabilitation of the Accra-Tema Motorway, which is 19.5 km, while the second is the rehabilitation of the George Walker Bush Highway, covering 5.7 km.

Giving details of the project, the minister said the third section, which was 2.5 km, involved the rehabilitation of the Nsawam road, from Tesano junction to Neoplan junction.

Implementation

Mr Asenso-Boakye, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bantama, said the implementation of the works would be in phases, targeting key areas for development and improvement.

He said the initial phase of the project involved the design of the entire 27.7 kilometres and construction of the works under the first section.

The works under sections one, two and three cover the rehabilitation of the Accra-Tema Motorway, including provision of four interchanges, eight toll plazas and 10 new footbridges.

Section two involves the rehabilitation and widening of the George Walker Bush Highway into a 12-lane divided highway with full access control and provision of a modern interchange at the Fiesta Royal Hotel junction and would have two toll plazas and two new footbridges.

The third section involves the rehabilitation of the Nsawam Road (Tesano Junction-Neoplan Junction) with full access control, including reconstruction of the Apenkwa interchange, rehabilitation of the Achimota Interchange, construction of an interchange at Neoplan Ghana to further facilitate smooth vehicular movement and the construction of three footbridges to improve safety of pedestrians.

Expansion project

With the expansion of the 19.5km stretch from Accra to Tema, Mr Asenso-Boakye said the scope of work would involve the rehabilitation into a modern 10-lane divided highway with full access control.

"This significant upgrade will facilitate the ease of traffic congestion and also improve safety and efficiency for all road users," he said.

The scope of work includes the reconstruction of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange; construction of the Teshie Link Interchange; construction of the Community 18 Interchange; construction of the Adjei Kojo Interchange; construction of eight toll plazas; construction of 10 new footbridges; reconstruction of Emmanuel Eye Clinic Junction on J. J. Rawlings Avenue; rehabilitation and widening of Liberation Road to the Polo Club, along with an overpass to the Polo Club, south of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange and the provision of streetlights and appurtenances.

Mr Asenso-Boakye gave the assurance that the Tema Motorway would be rebuilt to even higher standard with Portland cement concrete, the same material that was used in the original construction to ensure durability and longevity.

The minister indicated that the financial model for the project involved utilising a toll-based system to recover the whole life cost of the completed infrastructure.