Adomi Bridge to be first beneficiary of restored Yen Loan

A delegation from the Japanese Government will in August 2013 visit Ghana to assess the viability of the various infrastructure projects which the West African nation intends to undertake with the resumption of the Yen loan portfolio.

The move is in response to an appeal by Ghana’s President, Mr. John Mahama, for the resumption of the loan facility which was terminated by the Japanese Government when Ghana joined the Highly Indebted Poor Countries’ Initiative (HIPC), in 2001.

President Mahama, who disclosed this at a meeting with former Japanese diplomats to Ghana on the sidelines of the ongoing fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Japan, said his government will use the loan facility when granted to expand and improve the road network in Ghana.

He said the suspended Adomi Bridge will be the first beneficiary of the Yen Loan portfolio restoration.

President Mahama said the portfolio will be used to build a “new suspension bridge”, adding that: “It will be our own version of the Yokohama”.

The Bridge, which links the Eastern and Volta regions of Ghana, is suspended over the Lower Volta River around Akosombo.

It will soon be closed to traffic to allow for its reconstruction.

President Mahama said the reconstruction of the Bridge is part of his country's Eastern Corridor road project.

Mr. Mahama also invited the Japanese to invest in Ghana’s oil and gas sector as well as private energy production.