Parliament has given an approval to two separate loan facilities in the sum of €256, 008,796.00 million for upgrading of The Eastern Corridor Road (Lot 1), a 63.6km stretching from Tema Roundabout to Akosombo Junction.
The project to be financed by two facilities, was structured by The KfW-IPEX Bank and partially backed by Euler Hermes Aktiengeselischaft (Germany).
The project description, as contained in the Finance Committee Report for the approval involves the design and construction of the road, pavement and drainage facilities of the lot 1, which is equivalent to 141.0km of two-lane road.
When complete, the Eastern Corridor project will boost regional integration through trade by facilitating movement of passengers, goods, and services between Ghana and its landlocked neighbours as well as integrate the coastal capital city with the hinterland, the Committee said.
The two separate loan facilities are as follows:
Export Credit Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance) and KM IPEX-Bank GmbH for an amount of One Hundred and Ninety-Five Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Four Euros and Forty-Two Cents (€195,750,874.42) [backed by EH Credit Insurance Cover] for Upgrading of the Eastern Corridor Road Lot 1: Tema Akosombo Junction (63.6km), and
Loan Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance) and KM IPEX-Bank GmbH for an amount of Sixty Million, Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty-One Euros and Fifty-Eight Cents (€60,257,921.58) for Upgrading of the Eastern Corridor Road Lot 1: Tema Akosombo Junction (63.6km).
The Government of Ghana for the past decade has been implementing road improvement programs as part of its transport policy. The programs involve periodic and medium-term maintenance as well as rehabilitation and reconstruction of trunk, urban and rural infrastructure.
The Government is currently upgrading sections of the Eastern Corridor Road (ECR) in line with the focus of improving the road infrastructure.
The Corridor is strategically relevant, especially for freight movement within Ghana and neighbouring land-locked countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and beyond.
The Eastern Corridor Road also serves as North-South trade corridor by providing a shorter access from the Port of Tema and improving mobility between the Greater Accra, Eastern, Oti, Volta, Northern and Upper East Regions of Ghana and also between Ghana and the neighbouring land-locked countries.
The road corridor connects major towns such as Tema, Kpong, Atimpoku, Hohoe, Nkwanta, Bimbilla, Yendi, Gushiegu, Nakpanduri, Bawku and Kulungugu in Ghana.
The Eastern Corridor Road (ECR) is divided into Seven (7) LOTS. The LOT 1 of the ECR covers the stretch of road from the Tema Roundabout and ends at Akosombo Junction (63.6 km).
The Tema-Akosombo Junction/Adomi Bridge Section forms part of the Eastern Corridor Road (ECR). The Eastern Corridor represents the National Trunk Road No.2 (N2) in the trunk road network in Ghana, which starts from Tema Roundabout in the south and ends at Kulungugu, north-eastern border with Burkina Faso.
The objective of the integrated intermodal system of transport is to ease the pressure on the country’s busiest seaport as well as push up the gains from the Maritime logistics transport value chain and address the imbalance between transport modes for long distance transit and domestic freight from the south to the northern part of the country.
The implementation of the project will link the Tema Port to the Volta Lake transport network especially North-South movements. This will be complementary to the Eastern Corridor Road transport system which will continue to play a critical role in the development of the Eastern Corridor.
The rail transport will end at Akosombo and the more extensive road transport system will provide the critical ‘last mile’ service for development.
Story filed by Edzorna Francis Mensah
