Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has cut sod for work to begin on the construction of a concrete road in Ghana, decades after such a major undertaking in the country.
Construction work on the 5.4 km stretch popularly called Tema Steel Works and DVLA road is expected to take 18 months, and will be undertaken by two local firms.
Road construction experts say concrete roads last a minimum of 40 years, with just occasional rehabilitation works. Although it has an initially higher construction cost, it is much cheaper in the long run, and is more environmentally friendly.
Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was the first to construct such a road, the Tema Motorway, to link the industrial city of Tema to Accra in 1965; the road is still in use today.
Speaking at the sod cutting ceremony, Vice President Bawumia recalled his challenge to the Roads Ministry on June 19, 2017 to seriously consider the option of concrete roads to give a longer lifespan to the country’s roads, and commended the Ministry for the tremendous effort it has put in place to ensure the take-off of the pilot project.
“Tema as the largest port in Ghana has played a very important role in Ghana’s economy. Tema is also home to major industries in the country and it is important to provide durable roads to link the industries to the port as well as other parts of the country.