Sofoline Interchange Stopped

A view of the abandoned Sofoline interchange project

Construction of the Sofoline interchange project, which was started in 2007 during ex-President Kufuor's regime, has come to a halt as a result of lack of funds.

The project, which was due for completion in 2010, is being constructed by China Geo Engineering Corporation, a Chinese-based construction company, at the cost of $80 million.

A memo signed by the executive project manager, Xiao Shaochao, of which a copy is available to DAILY GUIDE, headlined 'Suspension of works', stated: 'It has become inevitable that not only road works cannot be resumed, but also bridge works should cease due mainly to lack of funds'.

It continued, 'Having carefully considered the options available to the corporation, management has decided that suspension of works is the best option open to it and that all employees affected by the suspension of works should get themselves in readiness to go on suspension, with effect from Friday, 27th May, 2011, after payment of salaries and wages.'

The memo, copied to the resident engineer, financial manager, supervisors, regional industrial relations officer and regional labour officer, indicated: 'However, employees affected by the suspension of works should give their contact numbers to their supervisors, who will contact them to report for duty immediately funds are made available to the corporation by the government'.

Ex-President Kufuor gave Kumasi its first ever interchange at Asafo and a year to the end of his term in office, he initiated another project at Sofoline.

The fully government funded project enjoyed a smooth take off in the era of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, but began to experience difficulties upon the assumption of the President Mills-led government.

Though works on the project came to a complete halt a long time ago, government functionaries were quick to deny it, insisting that works on the project were rather proceeding slowly.

However, the Ashanti regional minister, Dr Kwaku Agyeman Mensah, during a recent official visit to the Ashanti region, noted that government was doing everything possible to secure funds for the completion of the project.

According to him, the project had come to a standstill because it was being solely funded by the government and that the government was hard up to continue the project.

President Mills confirmed his government's inability to complete the project, which is expected to ease traffic at the eastern corridor of the metropolis, when he stated recently that if he had money he would have used it to complete the Sofoline project as well as other projects which had come to a standstill.

This was when he was interviewed on Asempa FM, an Accra-based private radio station, about allegations that he had allocated GH¢90 million for his flagbearership campaign.

Meanwhile, information reaching DAILY GUIDE has it that workers on the project have sworn to do everything possible to get the management to pay their salaries, including outstanding ones, before they would retire to their various homes.

According to them, they had worked for about three years but had not been paid their salaries, adding that several attempts to get the management to pay them their salaries had failed to yield the desired results.

They noted that they were prepared to take any action because they had wives, children and other dependants and that they could not go home empty handed.

From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi