Kumasi Suame Interchange Project to Commence in July – Regional Minister

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah has announced that the construction of the Suame interchange in the Ashanti Region will commence next month, July.

“The project is scheduled to begin towards the end of July,” he said in an interview with Agudey on Nkwantannanso on June 8.

According to him, preparatory work has already begun, and the contractor will soon start the actual construction.

“We are currently engaged in preparatory work. People will only believe it when they see heavy machinery and contractors on-site, but the truth is that work has already begun.”

“Several tasks need to be completed before the actual construction can begin. I am even scheduled to have a meeting with utility companies, urban roads, and the contractors to discuss the project. For example, Ghana Water Company Limited has pipes at the Suame Roundabout that may need to be relocated. This is all part of the preparatory work,” he explained.

He further clarified that although people expected the construction to start immediately after the sod-cutting ceremony, it doesn’t work that way.

“The project officially began on February 10, 2023. There are two types of contracts involved – one for design and construction and the other solely for construction.”

“The Suame interchange contract falls under design and construction, which means we had no pre-existing design. After the sod-cutting ceremony in October 2022, the contractor submitted the initial design draft to the Department of Urban Roads and its consultants. Certain changes have been made, and the construction will commence soon.”

In 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo performed the sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of a four-tier interchange at Suame in Kumasi, emphasizing the government’s commitment to enhancing urban mobility in the city and the Ashanti Region as a whole.

The Suame Interchange project will feature a four-tier interchange at the current Suame Roundabout, with overpasses at the Abrepo, Krofrom, Anomangye, Magazine New Road, and Abusuakruwa junctions.

It will be the first four-tier interchange in the Ashanti Region and the second in the country, following the Pokuase Interchange in the Greater Accra Region.

The construction of the interchange will be undertaken by M/S Grupo Dizmar of Spain and Rango Construction Limited, a Ghanaian company. The complementary road component will be solely executed by Rango Construction Company Limited, with the Ministry of Roads and Highways, through the Department of Urban Roads, overseeing the entire project.