New contractor mobilised for LEKMA road

The government, in partnership with Messers DSR Holdings Inc, a company based in Dubai, has selected a contractor to complete works on the Teshie Link Road.

This follows an offer the company from the United Arab Emirates made to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to fund the road popularly known as the LEKMA road and other roads.

The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who announced this at a press conference in Accra yesterday, said the company had indicated it would source for funds from the Development Bank of Belarus and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).

He added that a term sheet had already been forwarded by the Ministry of Roads and Highway to the Ministry of Finance and was yet to be subjected to Cabinet and parliamentary approval.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Ministry of Roads and Highways had subsequently applied and received approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to sole source for a contractor subject to the necessary approvals.

“This proposal is necessary to ensure that adequate funds are made available for the work,” the information minister added.

Condition of the road

The Teshie Link is 7.5 kilometres and has remained the single most distressful link in Teshie, ranked the eighth largest municipality in the country.

The road connects Teshie Lascala, Agblizaa and Manet Estate through to the Spintex Road, thus serving as an important link within and out of the area.

Residents and commuters alike have had cause to complain about the poor shape of the road, decrying the potholes which keep increasing in size and depth by the day as well as the unbearable dust it generates.

Patients visiting the LEKMA Hospital, which lies along the stretch, always have to endure the discomfort of bumpy rides on the pothole-ridden stretch.

The nature of the road also makes it difficult for emergency cases to be rushed to or from the hospital because drivers always have to slow down in order not to worsen their condition.

Nearly every surface of the LEKMA Hospital is covered in dust, with the operating theatre also having its fair share.

Contractor on site

Mr Oppong Nkrumah stated that the company, in consultation with the sector ministry, had already mobilised a contractor to go on site.

Cocoa road project

The information minister also stated that as part of the Cocoa Project initiative, the government had raised GH¢3 billion for the construction of cocoa roads across the country.

The project, which began under the previous administration, was suspended in July 2017 by the COCOBOD over discrepancies and financial irregularities in the award of some of the contracts.

After almost two years of holdup, the Roads and Highways Ministry, he said, would now resume work on the abandoned projects from the second half of this year.