Mahama inspects Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road project

President John Dramani Mahama as part of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper East Region, has inspected ongoing construction works on the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road project.

He also inspected ongoing construction works on the new Zuarungu Bridge, which forms part of the project.

President Mahama said the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road had been a road that, for many years, was in a very bad shape, and decided to reconstruct it during his first term, because it linked the two sections of the Upper East Region, the eastern and western parts.

The contract, he said, was awarded to Queros Galvão, a Brazilian company, at the time, which started advancing the work quite well.

He noted that after his administration left office, the project was stalled for a while and after investigating the award of contracts and other related matters, the new government asked the contractor to find financing to continue with the project, which the contractor did.

The President said unfortunately, because of the economic crisis that the country was plunged into and the debt defaults, all those loans were halted, and the work came to a stop again.

President Mahama said upon his return to office, he instructed the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ministry of Finance to get a contractor back on site to continue with the work.

“As of now, we are not continuing with the loan. The loan has been terminated, and so we are financing the project from our own resources,” the President said.

“I would not say that this project is directly under the Big Push Programme, but it is an associated Big Push project.”

President Mahama explained that it was because they had assured the contractor that, just like the Big Push projects, any certificates they submit would be paid within the Big Push payment period to enable them to continue the work and complete it.

He expressed confidence that by next year, they would congregate again to commission the final Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom Road.

He reiterated that when completed, the project would be linked with the Eastern Corridor.

The Eastern Corridor links, he explained, linked up with the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road with a stretch from Nakpanduri through Garu to Kulungungu that they were also scoping to create a continuous road network that would provide an alternative route to Accra.

“If one wants to travel to Accra, one could go through Garu, Nakpanduri, Gusegu, Bimbila and then down that corridor through Hohoe, Jasikan, Esikuma Junction, the Adomi Bridge, and then to Asikuma, Tema and Accra.”

The President commended the contractor, Queros Galvão for mobilising quickly back onto site, sayiong, “We know the quality of the work you have been doing, and this is not the first contract you have undertaken in Ghana. You successfully executed the Tamale Airport project and many other projects in the country.”

“We therefore encourage you to maintain the same standards, and I can assure you that your payments will be made on time so that you can complete the project on schedule.”

Mr Kwami Governs Gbodza, the Minister of Roads and Highways, said one of the reasons the contractor previously left the site was that they had raised a certificate for €28 million and were not paid anything on that certificate.

He said the Minister of Finance was supporting the Ministry of Roads and Highways to pay at least €8 million of that amount immediately to provide them with the liquidity they need to return to site and continue the work.

He assured President Mahama that the contractor was back on site, and that they were determined to complete the project alongside other Big Push projects on the corridor.

GNA