Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah has averred that “service to the nation without visible legacy is worthless” whiles indicating the government’s commitment to complete on-going and abandoned projects in the Region.
According to him, it will be a disappointment to him and the residents of the Ashanti Region not to see evident projects in the region since that becomes feasible footprints that history will recall and reminds people with.
He stated that, people love to see discernable infrastructural and monumental projects. For this reason, he is most interested and committed in pushing for the completion of on-going projects, those yet to be initiated and even snubbed ones in the region.
Speaking to the media, the Ashanti Regional Minister highlighted on several projects currently on the discussion board, their level of completion and the government’s plans and arrangements made towards such projects to make them a reality.
Giving update on the Boankra In-Land Port project, the Minister said, there has been a challenge with the funding of the project and he is yet to contact the Minister of Transport, Hon. Kwaku Asiamah and Railways and Development Minister to ascertain development of information in relation to the project to know the way forward in tackling the issue.
He stressed that, “it is in my interest to be done with railway projects connecting from Tema and Takoradi to Boankra to make entry and exist easy as well as loading and off-loading of goods at the port more efficient instead of relying on heavy duty vehicles”.
The Minister believes that the project will not serve best of its purpose without railways connected to the in-land port and solely relying on vehicular transportation. He noted that “the most efficient bulk transport system is the railway and that must be the way we should go”.
Hon. Simon Osei Mensah stated that, the “Kumasi Airport extension into an international one is smoothly on-going and we hope that it becomes fully completed for public consumption by the ending of August this year”. “People don’t need to go to Accra before travelling outside the country that will be a thing of the past”.
Highlighting on health facility projects in the region, the Minister disclosed that ‘the maternity and children ward project is in progress and will be ready to serve the public very soon”. He noted that “the Bekwai Hospital that was ignored has been revisited, completed and commissioned which is currently actively working and providing services to the public”. He emphatically stated, the “Tepa Hospital is correspondingly completed and has been opened to render its services to the public”.
Hon. Osei Mensah divulged that the Konongo Hospital is completed but left with tarring of the internal roads which the contractor is working on awaiting to be commissioned soon. Aiken to such projects is the Sewua Hospital in the Bosomtwe District and the Afari Hospital projects that are 98% and 92% complete, he noted. Kumawu Hospital project which contracted some financial difficulties has been resolved successfully giving way for the continuity of the project. “The Fomena Hospital projects is progressively on-going and shall be commissioned by the end of the year”, he added.
Speaking about prospective projects like the popular major interchange projects in Kumasi, Hon. Osei Mensah ardently stated, “The Suame Roundabout interchange project has caught the needed attention, financial arrangements have been made for it and acted on by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta by issuing a letter to that effect waiting for its finalization”. “The Contractor in charge of the project has presented his drawings of the project and we look forward for its commencement though I can’t give a definite date”.
When asked whether or not work for the five interchanges will began this year, the Minister reiterated that it is of his interest that the government starts with two major demanding areas such as Suame Roundabout and Santasi Roundabout to ease the high pressure in these areas rather than to touch all of the five and get stuck half way.
He also asserted how the government is committed to road construction projects in the region, such as Suame-Buoho road, Kwadaso Ohwimase-Atwima Bokuro road, Ohwim Amanfrom-Barekese road, and the others.
“We have considered all road projects and we shall see to their progress”. He stated that “funding of such projects is mostly the problem and unlike the local contractors, foreign ones immediately leave site whenever we encounter such challenges and that is the reason for the abandonment of several projects”.
The Ashanti Regional Minister unequivocally divulged that the Kejetia phase two project is actively on-going and the project as a whole shall be completed in February 2024.
He disclosed that “I, Chairman Wontumi and several others have met President Akufo-Addo and made a passionate appeal to the president to keenly keep his eyes on projects in the Ashanti Region and see to their completion, other than that, campaign in the region will be more difficult in 2024 for the NPP.
Source: Opemsuo.com/ Effah Mensah William
