Otumfuo Osei Tutu II with Kwame Agbodza, Brogya Genfi, and Dr. Frank Amoakohene
THE ASANTEHENE, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged the government to ensure quality delivery of the proposed 198 kilometres Accra-Kumasi expressway project.
“The proposed Accra-Kumasi expressway project is a good thing and we are happy about it. Since the attainment of independence, there hasn’t been any major works on the road linking the two big cities in our country.
“So if the government has decided to construct an expressway to link the two cities, then it’s laudable. The contractor should provide quality road comparable to international standards to last long for future generations,” he said.
The Asante Monarch said these when the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, and the Deputy Minister for Defence, Ernest Brogya Genfi, and Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
The government officials were at the palace to brief the Asantehene about the proposed road project and also seek his blessings and cooperation so that the road project would be delivered successfully.
Otumfuo assured them of his readiness to play a leading role in order to ensure that the expressway project becomes a reality.
“I will talk to chiefs in my kingdom whose communities would be affected by the road project to support and cooperate with you. But make sure that those whose farms and lands would be affected by the road will be compensated.
“The lands and farms of such people should be evaluated for a required compensation. We don’t subscribe to galamsey so illegal miners, who will be affected by the project, should be cleared from the road by soldiers,” he indicated.
According to the Asantehene, quality road networks play huge roles in ensuring the transformation of countries across the globe, urging government to work and ensure the completion of the expressway project in 2028.
Kwame Agbodza, the Roads Minister, said the expressway will have six lanes, three lanes in and three lanes out, to help reduce travelling hours between the two cities to two hours, noting that Otumfuo’s support is critically needed.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi