Accra: The second phase of the three-tier Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange project is set to be completed in September 2024.
Mr Owusu Sekyere Antwi, the Chief Resident Engineer of FAS Consult Limited, who gave the assurance, said work on the project had resumed in February 2024 after a long suspension.
Work on the second phase of the project commenced in March 2021 and was initially scheduled for completion in March 2023.
However, work on the project halted due to the government’s external debt exchange programme.
The second phase of the project is being executed by Messrs QGC UK Limited at a cost of pound 92 million.
Briefing Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minister of Roads and Highways, during a tour of the site, on Monday, Mr Antwi said work on the project had commenced in earnest and was on course for completion by September.
He said the project stood at 83 per cent complete, with major steel work on the bridge from Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital done.
The Resident Engineer, howe
ver, explained that ‘The bridge is 389m. All the steelwork on the bridge is completed. We have put concrete slabs on the bridge, and we are yet to put reinforcement and asphalt.’
Additionally, he said, construction of the major drains along the road was also at various stages of completion.
‘We have done many of the storm drains. We are left with the storm drain towards Korle Bu and the storm drain in front of STC and Royal House Chapel and that is what we are working on now,’ he added.
Mr Antwi assured that the revision of the completion timeline would not affect the structural integrity of the project.
He appealed to the Minister to help address teething challenges which included the relocation of a water pipeline and compensation payment to project-affected persons to allow for smooth execution of the project.
We will be excavating in front of people’s stores and things, we have taken inventory of all those things and we need to pay some compensation. Compensation has not been paid yet. We got approva
l for some of them, some, we have not got approval yet, so we need to speed up the approvals,’ Mr Antwi emphasised.
Mr Asenso-Boakye charged the Contractor to keep to the completion timeline to bring relief to Ghanaians.
He explained that the project was a government priority project because it was seated in the heart of the city, connecting Ghanaians to key service institutions such as the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
‘This is a very important project as you can see it is right at the heart of the city centre, this is Kaneshie, this is Circle and takes us to Korle-bu-a very important medical facility in the country.
‘So, you know how important this road is that is why we are working hard so that the contractor will finish it and the people around, Ghanaians will enjoy the full benefits of the project,’ Mr Asenso-Boakye said.
He also assured that the new completion timeline would not bring additional cost to the State, stressing that the ‘project is a fixed construct and so, there wouldn’t be additional c
ost component to it.’
The Roads Minister also assured the contractor of the government’s commitment to providing all necessary assistance towards the project’s completion.
Source: Ghana News Agency
