Prime News Ghana

Akufo-Addo shades Mahama for 'bloating' cost of interchange at $260m

By PrimeNewsGhana
Akufo-Addo
Akufo-Addo
Shares
facebook sharing button Share
twitter sharing button Tweet
email sharing button Email
sharethis sharing button Share

President Akufo-Addo has once again taken a swipe at former President John Dramani Mahama during the commissioning of the four-tier Pokuase Interchange on Friday, July 9, 2021.

President Akufo-Addo stated that his government is building three interchanges with an amount of $289 million, while the erstwhile Mahama administration built only one interchange with almost the same amount.

“It is important to put on record that the original contract design [for the Pokuase interchange] was for a three-tier interchange, however through efficient management by my government the interchange was modified to a four-tier interchange within the same contract sum.”

“Indeed, $289 million has been used by the Akufo-Addo government to construct three interchanges (at Pokuase, Obetsebi Lamptey, and Tamale) as opposed to $260 million used by the Mahama government to construct only the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange. These are further examples of the fact that we in the NPP are good protectors of the public purse,” he argued.

READ ALSO : Opinion: 'Problematic engineering work on Pokuase interchange' by  Carl Odame-Gyenti, PhD

President Akufo-Addo appeals to drivers to adhere to all road safety measures to ensure the safe use of the facility.

“I appeal to the users of this facility, especially drivers, to adhere to the various road safety measures put in place for the safe use of the facility. The modernization of Ghana is steadily gathering momentum, and I entreat all Ghanaians to join hands in building the Ghana we want.”

About the project

The Pokuase Interchange is a four-tier interchange situated at Pokuase Junction, connecting motorists to Awoshie, Kwabenya, Amasaman and Achimota.

The project is being undertaken by Messrs China Zhongmei Engineering Company Limited.

The sod-cutting ceremony for work to start was done in July 2018, with the project initially expected to be completed in October 2020, but that was changed to March 2021.

The government, in May 2021, promised that the project would be completed in the first week of July 2021.

The four-tier interchange project is the first of its kind in West Africa.