Parliament on Friday approved a US$338,897,543 concessionary agreement between the Roads Ministry and Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) for the Tema Motorway redevelopment and expansion project.
The 27-kilometre project is expected to transform the 1965 constructed 4-lane motorway into a 10-lane facility to facilitate transportation from Ghana’s industrial hub, Tema to Accra and the rest of the country.
With a concession period of 30 years, the redevelopment of the motorway is expected to be completed in 36 months.
The project comprises three sections – the Accra-Tema Motorway which is 19.5 kilometres, redevelopment of sections up to 5.7km on the George Walker Bush Highway, and rehabilitation of about 2.5 5km from the Achimota overhead to link the Neoplan interchange on the Accra-Nsawam highway.
As part of the project, Tetteh Quashie interchange would be re-modelled to reduce the current traffic congestion on the road.
There would be eight interchanges at various sections of the project to enhance easy use for both vehicles and pedestrians and one per cent of the revenue accrued from the project to be given to the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
The project which forms part of the international transit corridor in the West Africa sub-region also comprises the operation and maintenance of the road including road toll system on some sections.
Per the Roads and Transport Committee’s report which was unanimously approved, the Government of Ghana would fund section one through a multi-year appropriation of the total cost in three years; US$125m, US$102 and US$153.
“The project is to be funded from the ABFA and as such, the schedule of disbursement will be aligned with the payment schedule under the EPC contract to minimise any contingent obligation to GoG,” the report said.
Moving the motion for the approval of the Committee’s report on the concessionary facility, Chairman of the Committee and MP for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, said the project would deepen commercial activities between Accra and Tema.
“The Committee, after carefully going through the agreement, recommends to the House to adopt the concession agreement under the public private partnership between the government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Atep Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GIIF as the employer and Maripoma Enterprise Limited as Contractor,” Mr Nyarko submitted.
Ranking Member on the Committee, Isaac Adjei Mensah, seconding the motion, said the project had the support of the Minority so as to develop the country and bring relief to citizens who used that stretch in the daily basis.
“This project is appropriate that is why we support it and we expect that the first tranche will be executed to give room for the second and third tranches,” Mr Mensah urged.
Being the GIIF’s first road project, the redevelopment of the busy stretch comes on the back of years of agitation by commuters over the poor state of the Tema Motorway.
It is estimated that about 40,000 vehicles ply the motorway on daily basis to connect to other parts of the country and the sub-region.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
