Simon Osei Mensah: We’ve Completed Over 1000Km Of Roads

The Ashanti regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah has said that 1,515.06 kilometres roads in the Ashanti region have been completed since he assumed office as Minister.

Speaking at a press conference, the Minister said before assuming the office, the topmost challenge for the Region was the road, health, education, security and sanitation sectors.

For roads, he said 336 separate road contracts comprising 6,498.75 kilometres of roads have been awarded to various contractors.

He explained that out of the awarded contracts, 64 were awarded by the Department of Urban Roads, 69 awarded by the Ghana Highways Authority and 203 awarded by the Department of Feeder Roads.

“When I took over the affairs of the Ashanti region, I sat down with the captains of the road sector of the region then we strategised. The first thing we decided to do was to fix broken bridges. The roads were not very bad but because some major bridges had collapsed, the diversions were too long.

“So we decide to fix the bridges for which the cost was quite low and then make those roads motorable. When you go to Abrepo junction, there is a hotel we call Samad Hotel, there was the major bridge we’ve fixed; Kwadaso; Oduom junction-Awomaso-Domeabra we fixed two there”.

The Ashanti Regional Minister noted that the Coco cola-Dompoase road was awarded to a Chinese contractor.

The project, he said, has six components including the road itself; a bridge over river Susan; a lorry terminal, a storm drain, a footpath for pedestrians and another bridge for vehicles.

“The terminal is completed, the bridge is almost completed and 500 meters of the road yet to be dualised to complete the project”, he said.

Another road of focus, the Minister said, is the Dompease junction-Aputuogya road which has one side of the road completed and 75% of the other side completed.

He also indicated that the Anwiankwankata-Obuasi road is completed however, it is left with the construction of a bridge over River Oda.

As a way of easing traffic on the Kokoben road, a critical link route was constructed at Ahodwo-Sokoban-Trede which is 95% completed, Osei Mensah stated.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini