Ghanaian construction technocrats dialogue with Japanese counterparts

Ghanaian public and private technocrats in the road construction sector have held a one-day dialogue with their Japanese counterparts in Accra to learn Japan’s cutting-edge technologies and methodologies in the construction industry.

They were also educated on the effective ways to incorporate environmental, social and safety considerations and scheduling for on-time completion of road construction.

Day’s dialogue

Discussions focused on roads and bridges, traffic management, road maintenance and technology transfer.

The dialogue sought to facilitate more concrete discussion regarding the infrastructure needs of Ghana and ways through which Japanese companies could cooperate with Ghana to meet such needs.

It also provided the platform for exchange of information between the public and the private sectors of the two countries.

Infrastructure sector

Opening the dialogue, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, lauded the Japanese government for its interest in the infrastructure sector of Ghana.

Recounting that Ghana had benefited from its friendship with Japan, the minister said, “We appreciate the Japanese government for recognising Ghana’s economic potential and providing their support through the implementation of various projects and technical assistants.”

He added that Ghana had embraced the high quality infrastructure concept from Japan as a critical element for stable socio-economic growth in response to the infrastructure deficit in the country.

“We acknowledge that high quality infrastructure might appear to have a high initial cost, but in the long run, its durability, environmental friendliness, disaster resilience and reduction in overall maintenance cost create value for money, with its reduced lifestyle cost,” Mr Amoako-Atta said.

Strengthening cooperation

The minister said it was the belief of Ghana that in strengthening the cooperation between the two countries to develop high quality infrastructure, “we stand to mutually benefit from this cooperation and also promote strong sustainable and balanced growth in the road sector”.

Mr Amoako-Atta explained that the cardinal priority for the government was the creation of jobs for the people of Ghana, and he was convinced that the cooperation would result in that.

Japanese companies

The Consular at the Japanese Embassy in Ghana, Mr Kouji Tomito, said there had been an increase in Japanese companies in the country which were operating in varied sectors.

He noted that the dialogue would create an opportunity for the exchange of ideas which could be put into practice to promote high quality infrastructure in the country.