Pokuase, July 9, GNA – President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Friday commissioned the four-tier Pokuase Interchange, a game changer in the infrastructural development and modernisation drive of the government.
The 84 million dollar Interchange, built over 36 months, is the first of its type in West Africa and second largest in Africa. It is expected to improve mobility on the busy Accra-Nsawam section of the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
At a ceremony to commission the facility, President Akufo-Addo indicated the completion of the interchange, will help solve, once and for all, the nightmare endured for several decades by commuters within and outside of the vicinity of the project.
He said the facility was an integral part of comprehensive measures put in place by the Government to address the issues of congestion in urban centres and to help improve travel times on major arterial roads.
Originally a three-tier Interchange, the facility, which was started in April 2018, and located in the industrial zone of the northeast axis of Accra, will also enhance sustainable economic growth for the people in the area, and facilitate traffic within the Tema-Ouagadougou-Bamako corridor.
The Pokuase Interchange Project involved the construction of the 6.5-kilometre Awoshie to Pokuase road; an interchange at the intersection of ACP junction from Awoshie to Nsawam road; two footbridges; the widening of the Nsawam road by some two kilometres; drainage works; the provision of streetlights; and the construction of twelve (12) kilometres of town roads.
It also involved the rehabilitation of the Kpobiman Women’s Group Centre to train women in pastry, bread, soap and bead making; the rehabilitation of the Manchie Gari Factory for the processing of cassava into gari and starch; the protection of the three-hectare Gua Sacred Forest; and the provision of ICT labs for 14 basic schools, which will help train some 10,000 basic school children within the Ga North, South, Central and West Municipalities, with knowledge in information and communications technology.
The project was jointly funded by the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana.
The President emphasised that the Government’s agenda of providing the needed infrastructure for the development of the nation was on track, adding, “The modernisation of Ghana is steadily gaining momentum.”
He told the gathering that Government had embarked on a number of projects nation-wide to improve urban mobility and help reduce travel time in the country.
These include the construction of Phase II of Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange, the Tamale Interchange, the PTC Roundabout Interchange in Takoradi, the Nungua Interchange which is part of the La Beach Road Completion Project, the Adjringanor Overpass, where ongoing works will be completed by the first quarter of 2022; and Phase II of the Tema Motorway Interchange.
In addition to the construction of interchanges, government had constructed some 1,200 kilometres of asphalt overlay throughout the country, all in the bid to improve urban mobility in the country to help reduce travel times on our roads.
The President further indicated that with his administration declaring 2021 as the “Second Year of Roads”, the Ministry of Roads and Highways had programmed to undertake the construction of 1,500 kilometres of asphalt overlay in all parts of the country.
He charged the Ministry of Roads and Highways to ensure the proper maintenance of the Pokuase Interchange over the design period, and appealed to the users of the facility, especially drivers, to adhere to the various road safety measures put in place for the safe use of the facility.
“The modernisation of Ghana is steadily gathering momentum, and I entreat all Ghanaians to join hands in building the Ghana we want,” the President urged.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako Attah, urged the local municipal assembly to ensure that billboards were not constructed along the interchange.
He expressed gratitude to the contractors of the interchange, staff of the ministry and the traditional and opinion leaders in the area for supporting the project to make it a success