President John Mahama has announced that the Engineers Corps of the Ghana Armed Forces will receive a State Award for its contribution to the development of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
The award, the Order of the Companion of the Order of Volta, will be presented to the Corps when Ghana marks its 70th Independence Anniversary next year.
President Mahama said the honour is in recognition of the dedication and hard work of the Engineers Corps in completing the clearance of the right-of-way for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway ahead of schedule.
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The Engineers Corps was tasked to clear the right-of-way as a prelude to the construction of the six-lane expressway. The exercise was expected to take 20 weeks, but the Corps completed the 176-kilometre stretch and formally handed it over to the government.
President Mahama made the announcement at Kwaso in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region, where the Ghana Armed Forces formally handed over the cleared right-of-way to the government.
He said the successful completion of the exercise demonstrated the capacity of the military to contribute to national development beyond its traditional security responsibilities.
President Mahama also announced plans for the government to sublet portions of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway contracts to the Engineers Corps.
According to him, other road and bridge projects across the country will also be considered for execution by the Corps to enable it to contribute further to Ghana’s socio-economic development.
The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is a flagship infrastructure project intended to provide an alternative to the existing single-lane N6 Accra-Kumasi highway.
The six-lane expressway is expected to reduce travel time between Accra and Kumasi, Ghana’s two major cities, by about half.
The project will run from Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region through Ofoase-Ayirebi and Asamankese in the Eastern Region to Sawua Junction in the Ashanti Region.
It is expected to reduce the distance between the two cities from about 270 kilometres to approximately 198 kilometres while improving road safety and easing congestion.
The Director General of Engineering Services of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General Jonas Wiafe, said some farmers whose lands were affected by the right-of-way clearance had already been compensated.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, said a Special Purpose Vehicle, the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, had been established to facilitate the speedy execution of the project and manage the facility after completion.
The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, also assured that the government intends to finance the estimated three-billion-dollar project from domestic sources without recourse to foreign borrowing.
President Mahama further announced that processes for the award of the main construction contract had begun, with construction expected to commence in December this year.
By Nicholas Osei Wusu
