Ofankor-Nsawam road project to delay as contractor ‘abandons’ project over funds
The July 2024 completion date of the Ofankor-Nsawam Road Project is likely to be missed as the project has stalled due to lack of funds leading to inconvenience for motorists.
The over 30-kilometre road project undertaken by Messrs Maripoma Enterprise Limited for over US$341.48 million started late last year and was scheduled to be completed in July 2024, some 8 months from now.
However, checks by MyNewsGh.com on the project which will consist of the reconstruction of the existing asphaltic concrete pavement and the provision of 11 safe pedestrian crossing facilities, four interchanges and streetlights shows the contractor and his machinery are no longer on site.
The Ofankor-Nsawam road is currently a two-lane dual carriageway which has deteriorated beyond use and is being expanded to a three-lane dual carriageway after completion.
From Sarpeiman all the way to the main Nsawam Total junction where the project terminates, the project contractor does not have a single wheelbarrow on site as at press time yesterday.
Two machines were spotted parked around the Festus Hotel at Pokuase but it is unclear if the said machines belongs to the project contractor or to someone else who has parked it there.
For a project of that magnitude which completion is expected in the next 8 months, checks at night also revealed no construction is taking place.
MyNewsGh.com spoke to some officials under condition of strict anonymity who disclosed the lack of funds as the major cause of the stalling of the project.
They also revealed the project has also been plagued by court suits following encroachment on the “right of way” and waterways, some property owners refusing to cooperate and the relocation of utility lines remain undone.
The abandoned road project will serve as a vital link for trade between Ghana and its neighbouring landlocked countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and for transit cargo to move from the country’s ports to those destinations.
Two months ago, a representative of the project consultant with the Associated Consultants Limited, one Arthur claimed the “project is progressing steadily with 40% completed”.
Residents in the area have been lamenting the abandonment of the project calling on the government to release funds timely and order the project contractor back on site.
The scope of works undertaken so far includes the construction of an underpass footbridge at the Agya Appiah section of the road, 50 per cent complete, a footbridge at Fise, 95 per cent complete with all the other components of the projects at various stages of completion.
The project is jointly funded by the government and Maripoma Enterprise Limited, a wholly-owned Ghanaian construction company, which is also executing the project under a Design and Build Contract with Associated Consultants Limited, supervising.
The project involved the construction of eight lanes road from Ofankor to Pokuase Interchange and 10 lanes from Pokuase Interchange to the Nsawam Bypass.
Movement from Ofankor to the Nsawam Bypass which should take 30 minutes currently takes several hours due to the heavy vehicular traffic on the stretch. However, when the project is completed, the time will be drastically reduced.
Mynewsgh.com
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