Kufuor commissions road in Brong-Ahafo

Antwikrom (B/A), Dec 19, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday commissioned the Sunyani-Ntotroso-Acherensua road and commended the contractor, J. Adom Limited, for a good and quality job done. He said the government was also highly grateful to the contractor for the free modification of the road at Antwikrom at the cost of 11.3 billion cedis to prevent accidents.

The construction of the 48.3 kilometres road cost 10 Million Ghana Cedis.

Addressing the chiefs and people, President Kufuor said the co mmissioning of the road was a "tacit demonstration of the belief of the government that good and safe roads are a sine qua non for the speedy socio-economic development of the country."

"In other words we believe that a sound infrastructure base is necessary to propel the nation towards our goal to achieve a middle-income status for Ghana in the year 2015", he said. President Kufuor said since the NPP government was given the mandate to direct the affairs of the country in 2001, it had demonstrated that given the relative peace and resolve of Ghanaians to put their shoulders to the wheel of development, Ghana would gradually become a structurally beautiful country with modern road infrastructure to enhance socio-economic development.

He said the government was proud to be associated with these developments and mentioned a few of the major road development projects that had been completed in the last two years. These include the Abuakwa-Bibiani, Mallam-Kasoa, Kasoa-Ankamu and Ankamu-Yamoransa roads.

Others are Konongo-Kumasi, Kpandu-Worawora-Dambai Phase 11, Dualisation of Pantang-Peduase Lodge, Tema-Sogakope and Bole-Tinga roads.

President Kufuor said the government had undertaken the road development works in its commitment to improve and modernize road transportation in the country.

"One cannot over-emphasize the benefits of reduced travel time, reduced vehicle operating costs, reliability of the road network, increased economic activity and enhanced socio-economic status of our people".

President Kufuor expressed the gratitude of the government and the people of Ghana to "our development partners and our hardworking contractors and consultants for their support, dedication and contribution to the development of the road sector". He cautioned the Ministry of Transportation to ensure the maintenance of its road infrastructure in order to obtain the full benefits of the huge investments made.

President Kufuor appealed to all to ensure the security of road safety signs and crash barriers and expressed regret that they were either damaged or stolen by some unscrupulous people.

Mr. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, said the road had created a direct link between Ahafo and Brong and had shortened the distance from Sunyani to Goaso and beyond. "Farmers along the road are very happy because they can easily convey their farm produce to marketing centres and feel safe travelling on the road", he said.

He said the road had also helped a great deal in the commencement of gold mining activities around Kenyasi and Ntotroso. Its construction coincided with the beginning of the Ahafo mine and most of personnel of Newmont found it convenient to stay in Sunyani and commute daily to the mining area.

The Regional Minister said roads in the region had seen tremendous improvement since the NPP government assumed power in 2001 and expressed the gratitude of the chiefs and people for the numerous roads and other projects executed in the region.

President Kufuor later in the day cut the sod for commencement of reconstruction works on the 56-kilometre Berekum-Sampa road at Faaman in the Jaman South district, also being undertaken by J. Adom Limited. He said with the commencement of work on the road in addition to the other numerous on-going projects, "our government with the support of our development partners is steadily actualizing our commitment to the provision of good roads to enhance the socio-economic development of this nation".

President Kufuor said the road when completed would bring immense socio-economic benefits to the people because they would be able to travel to the market centres and health posts in a more convenient and safer way.

In particular, he said, commuters from other parts of the country and neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire would do so within a shorter time and in a more comfortable condition.

The President noted the number of commercial and religious activities during the Christmas season and appealed to all to take measures to ensure that the incidence of road traffic accidents was reduced, if not completely eliminated.

He called on the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Serve, the National Road safety Commission, transport associations to intensify their education and enforcement of corrective measures on road users.

"We need to make our roads life tracks not death traps for our people during the Christmas period and for all time", President Kufuor said.

Mr. Godfrey Bayon Tangu, Minister of State for Transportation, explained that the project involved a two-lane single carriageway bituminous surfaced road from Kilometre 32 at Drobo to kilometer 88 at Sampa, near the border with neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire. He said project, estimated at 41.5 million Ghana Cedis and fully funded by the government, included the construction of a 15- metre bridge over River Tain.

The Minister said the project would result in a significant increase in economic activities and facilitate the marketing of agricultural produce.