Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has cut sod for the construction of a 167km Tamale-Yendi-Tatale road project in the Northern region as part of the Eastern corridor road project.
The Tatale-Yendi-Tamale Road Project is fully funded by a US$150 million World Bank facility which was approved on June 6, 2017, under the Transport Sector Improvement Project (TSIP).
The project is expected to be completed in two years, but under the terms of the contract, the contractors will be undertaking maintenance works for five more years, unlike previous contracts where contractors are obliged to do one year of maintenance. This will bring the total project time to seven years.
“In addition to undertaking the 167km Highway between Tatale and Tamale, an additional 670km and 240 km of feeder roads will be rehabilitated in the Upper West and Bono East Regions, respectively as part of this facility. It means under this Transport Sector Improvement Project, 1,077km of roads will be rehabilitated within the next two years. The Trunk Road component will be paved, whilst the feeder roads will be mainly gravel finish.”
China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co.Ltd, China Water & Electric Corp.& CICO JV are the contractors in charge of the Tamale-Yendi-Tatale road project.
Project Lot 1 consists of the Tatale border post to Zabzugu road (km 0.00-24.90), Zabzugu to Yendi road(km 24.90-61.60), and Tatale border post (380 m) which is a Gh 98 million World Bank project.
Lot 2 (Yendi-Tamale) also consists of Zabzugu to Yendi road (km 61.60-72.40), Yendi to Kulgeni ( km 0.10-43.05), Kulgeni to Tamale road(Km 43.05-92.62), One-way couple in Yendi town (2.6km) which is also $60.96 million World Bank Project.
The contract is sub-divided into design works which consist of initial rehabilitation and improvement works; improvement (upgrading ) works of 165.02 km of roads including the installation of streetlights, sidewalks, bus bays, and road line marking, and improvement (upgrading) works of 380m of the road at the Tatale border post, improvement (upgrading) of Kumfong road in Yendi as part of a one-way coupled with (2.6km), rehabilitation of one existing bridge, improvement (upgrading) of 8 bridges, improvement (upgrading)of culverts and installation of fibre optic infrastructure along the full extent of the route to provide connectivity to the Tatale border post.
Network Performance (Maintenance) Works involving complementary intervention (basic schools, boreholes, clinics), Emergency works, Environmental, Social, Health, and Safety(ESHS) compliance.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at the sod-cutting ceremony indicated that in the history of the fourth republic no government has attempted to construct the Tamale-Yendi-Tatale road by tarring it.
“We are here to witness the historic sod-cutting for the construction of the Tatale-Yendi-Tamale road which forms part of the Eastern Corridor roads which links Tema, Asikuma, Hohoe, Bimbilla, Yendi, Gushegu, Gbintiri, Bunkprugu, Garu, Bawku, and Polimakom. I must say that in the history of the 4th Republic, no government has attempted to tar this entire stretch of road like we are going to do. This is further evidence that the Year of Roads declared by President Akufo-Addo is firmly on course.”
According to him, in the Northern region alone, the construction of critical roads is ongoing which include: Upgrading of Zabzugu – Nakpali -51km is 60% complete; Rehabilitation of Salaga-Kpandai 52km is 50% complete;
Upgrading of Salaga-Bimbilla 71km is 56% complete; Upgrading of Nantong-Karaga 61km is 45% complete; and
Upgrading of Karaga-Gushegu 24km is 30% complete.
Dr. Bawumia stated that the overarching development objective of the government is to reduce travel time on selected parts of the road network in northern Ghana through the introduction of performance-based contracts; promote road safety; and;
strengthen the institutional management of the transport sector.
He noted that good road networks are essential in linking producers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools, and the sick to hospitals.
The Vice President assured that President Akufo-Addo’s government is committed to tackling road infrastructure challenges in the country.
The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako Attah, appealed to residents along the project areas to support the contractors to ensure that the project is successful.
He entreated motorists and other stakeholders to respect the road’s safety and management protocols.
The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu noted that the Tamale-Yendi-Tatale road project will bring huge economic benefits to the region.
“As an Agricultural area with huge potential in the production of maize, yam, and soya bean, this project is bound to contribute immensely towards enhancing the lives of the People by growing businesses and raising incomes. It would also facilitate the movement of goods and services with our neighboring countries. It is a real game-changer for us and we are grateful.”
FROM Eric Kombat, Zang