By Joyce Kantam Kolamon
Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, has expressed satisfaction with the ongoing first-ever interchange in the Northern region in which President Akufo-Addo cut the sod for its construction in 2019. The two-tier interchange, which is at about 95% complete, is one of many infrastructural projects being financed through the two billion dollars Sinohydro Master Project Support Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Chinese government.
According to the Minister, the project is expected to be completed by the end of February 2022, after which the President will officially commission it in March.
”The completion of the interchange will open to traffic soon to bring back sanity to the Metropolis”.
Mr Amoako Atta said this when he inspected the 1.1km interchange as part of a working visit to the region to inspect some ongoing road projects in Tamale.
The Sinohydro agreement, which was brokered in 2017 during Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s visit to China, is a barter deal which requires the Chinese Government to fund priority infrastructure projects selected by the Government of Ghana to the tune of $2bn in exchange for Ghana’s refined bauxite at the same value.
Mr Amoako-Atta indicated that the Northern region alone has about 100 kilometers of asphalted roads.
Resident Engineer for the project, Emmanuel Dogbotse said the remaining work on the interchange is an auxiliary one, collaborating that the project, ”would be completed by February this year”.
