President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his administration has built more roads than any government in Ghana’s history within a five-year period.
Delivering a message on the state of the nation to Parliament yesterday, the President said the road sector was where his government had recorded its greatest infrastructure achievement.
“In the five years of my government, so far, more roads have been built, improved and upgraded than at any other equivalent period under any government in the history of Ghana”
“Some 10,875 kilometres of new roads have been constructed in these 5 years,” he said and pledged “to continue with the building of roads round the country to accelerate the opening up of our country.”
On energy, the President noted that in spite of worldwide upheavals in the energy sector and the huge legacy debts he inherited from his predecessor, his government had managed to keep the lights on.
He said the government had almost completed the process of restructuring the legacy debts in the energy sector to reduce its effect on public expenditure.
“With the introduction of more Bulk Supply Points (BSPs) in areas such as Kasoa and Pokuase, power transmission has improved tremendously in the South-Western and North-Western parts of Greater Accra. Power lines are getting upgraded to reduce commercial and technical losses and increase transmission capacity,” he said.
Under the National Electrification Scheme, he said a total of 279 communities had been connected to the national grid.
That, he added, had increased the national electricity access rate from 85.17 percent in 2020 to 87.03 percent as at January 2022.
Also, he said 487 more communities were at various stages of connection to the grid and indicated that the nation was on course to achieving universal access to electricity.
On railway development, he said the government’s commitment to constructing a modern railway network in the country was bearing fruit.
“The construction of the 22 kilometre section of the Western Railway Line, on a new standard gauge, from Kojokrom to Manso, which commenced in 2018, is on schedule to be completed before the end of this year.
“Ahead of its completion, government has secured the needed funding to continue the Western Railway Development Project for an additional seventy-eight kilometres (78kms) from Manso to Huni Valley.
“The project will also include the conversion of the dual gauge tracks between Takoradi and Kojokrom from narrow gauge to standard gauge,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo thanked Parliament for approving a Commercial Contract and a Facility Agreement of €439,000,000 to finance the development of another section of the Western Line from Eduadin to Obuasi, covering a distance of 51kms.
“A lot more attention will be paid this year towards securing additional resources to complete the development of the Western Line from Awaso, to link up with the bauxite deposits at Nyinahin, which will facilitate the development of the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation project,” he said.
BY YAW KYEI
