General News of Monday, 5 April 2021

Source: 3news.com

But for Mahama there would have been no Pokuase Interchange – Agyenim-Boateng

The four-tier Pokuase Interchange The four-tier Pokuase Interchange

An aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, James Agyenim-Boateng has noted that but for the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 elections, there would have been no Pokuase interchange to serve the people.

Construction work on the four-tier Pokuase Interchange which began in July 2018 is 91 per cent complete, according to engineers. The project includes the Awoshie-Accra, Kumasi-Kwabenya, Kumasi-Awoshie, Accra-Kwabenya and Accra-Awoshie roads.

Currently, 70 percent of the project has been opened to traffic.

The Resident Engineer on the project, Mr Kwabena Bempong recently told journalists that the remaining works included the completion of a bridge, the fourth tier and a portion of the third tier, all of which would be completed in March this year.

“We are hoping that by the end of next month all the concrete works on the bridge, including the main deck, will be completed, while we continue with work on the street lights, asphalting, road line markings, among others,” he added.

He further stated that “We have two stages of handover: the first is substantial completion when about 95 per cent of the work is done, while the full handover will be done when we complete everything, and this will depend on the government,” he said.

In a tweet, Mr Agyenim-Boateng who is also a former Deputy Minister of Infromation said “#ButForJohnMahama there would have been no #PokuaseInterchange.”

In 2016, the then government headed by Mr Mahama signed a loan agreement with the African Development Bank to provide 83 million dollars for the construction of the Pokuase Interchange as government was going to provide 11 million dollars.

The then Finance Minister Seth Terkper said the project was the first time the AfDB was experiencing funding such road projects that involve the construction of schools, hospitals, markets and recreational centers in addition.

“This the first for the African Development Bank to be experimented in Ghana and they say they are going to take the model elsewhere. Often we quote just the amount and we think its just the road,” he said.

See the tweet below: