Greater Accra to have transportation master plan

A transportation master plan for the Greater Accra Region being developed by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, is expected to be ready this month.

This follows the successful organisation of the final stakeholders’ consultation workshop on the development of the master plan.

The one-day workshop was organised by the ministry and KOICA in Accra yesterday.

The master plan seeks to set a clear direction for the implementation of a transportation system in the Greater Accra Region for the next 20 years that will bring together all modes of transport across the region into an integrated urban transport system.

The $1.5-million plan, funded by the Korean government, is to recommend policies, strategies and engineering measures to reduce congestion and logistic cost in Accra to ensure sustainability and consistency of the region’s transport system. 

The one-day workshop was to present the final draft of the report on the project and solicit final recommendations and inputs from stakeholders.

The development of the plan started in December 2014.

Master plan

The transportation master plan will cover the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), which includes the Ga South, Ga West, Ga East, Ga Central, Adentan, Ashaiman, Tema, Ledzokuku Krowor, La Dadekotopon, La Nkwantanang, Madina and Kpone Katamanso areas.

The Minister of Transport, Mr Fifi Kwetey, in a speech read on his behalf to open the workshop, explained that the project sought to reduce traffic congestion in the city, especially during peak periods.

He said accessibility within the urban centre was a major challenge due to rapid urbanisation and demographic and economic growth, subjecting commuters to long uncomfortable journeys and long queues at various bus terminals.

He expressed the hope that the project would resolve the challenges in the transport system by reducing traffic congestion, improving mobility and ensuring affordable public transport services.

Transformation 

In his address, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Woon-Ki Lyeo, noted that the challenges in the transport system were as a result of poor and uncoordinated planning of the urban transportation system of the Accra metropolitan area.

“Inadequate development of inter-modal facilities, inappropriate relationship between land use and transport planning, as well as disregard for regulation, have partly contributed to the current traffic situation within the region,” he said.

Mr Lyeo said Seoul, the capital of Korea, had similar traffic conditions up to the 1970s but comprehensive and proper planning, with appropriate engineering and sound policy measures, contributed to the rapid transformation of the transport infrastructure thereafter.

With the measures and strategies that would be outlined in the master plan, he said, the Accra urban transport structure and systems would see a transformation.

“It is an expectation that Accra will be transformed to have an advanced and efficient urban transport system comparable to that of any modern city globally by 2035, which is the end-year of the master plan’s implementation,” he added.

He said the Korean government would provide continued support for Ghana in the implementation of the transportation master plan.