Odweanoma Mountain road to receive facelift before Easter

The Odweanoma Mountain Road which begins at the foot of Atibie to the Kwahu Paragliding site in the Kwahu South District in the Eastern Region is to receive a significant facelift before this year’s Kwahu Easter celebration in April.

It is only a few weeks to the annual Kwahu festival which pulls hundreds of celebrants, especially those keen on paragliding onto the Odweanoma Mountain.

Notwithstanding the rather short time, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako Attah, is hopeful that a good contractor will be able to make a difference before the festival.
Mr Amoako Attah gave an assurance when he visited the area as part of a one day tour of the Eastern Region.

He said the road would be awarded on emergency basis.

“The road must be in good condition and I want to assure the people of Ghana and by extension Kwahu that before the next paragliding event, though it will not be completed judging from the scope of works, I can tell you before Easter, we would have seen a major change “, he stated.

Mr Amoako Attah also said the “narrow, stony road which can hardly have two vehicles driving side by side is going to be widened.

I’m sure by that time the earthworks would have been done if not tarred.

We are going to bring it to a level that will give it a very smooth and comfortable driving surface and that’s going to be done before Easter.”

Odweanoma Mountain

The Kwahu paragliding festival receives many patrons from all over the world.

However, the poor nature of the road has been a huge disincentive for sector players and tourists.

Mr Amoako Attah who drove on the five kilometre road with his entourage, accompanied by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Daffour, said it was important that such a facility which brought Ghana onto the lime light every year received the needed attention.

Currently, the road has patches of previous bituminous surfaces at some sections.

Other sections have just rough gravel surfaces, making driving on it quite tiresome.

The Mpraeso to Odweanoma road has been in a deplorable state for a very long time and has been described as the only thing taking away the shine off the excitement at the festival.

Other projects

The minister also inspected a 10- kilometre town roads project by the Department of Urban Roads being constructed by Messrs Berock Ventures Ltd.

The Regional Director, Mr Kofi Nti Appiagyei, said some of the roads, particularly Nkawkaw SHS-Domeabra, Agyakwa Hospital and Adoagyir/White House Roads would allow traffic to go around the Nkawkaw town and not through the congested central business district area.

According to the contractor, 78 per cent of the works has so far been completed.

The team also visited a new road between Akwasiho and Twenedruase in the Kwahu East District in the region under construction by ABC, a local contractor.