The Ministry of Roads and Transport has signed a contract with SONITRA, a Cote d'Ivoire based company for the construction of the Apedwa to Bonsu road diversion on the Accra – Kumasi highway. The contract is worth 21 billion cedisand foreign component of 10 million dollars.

The Sector Minister Dr Richard Anane, who signed on behalf of government, said the construction of the 22-kilometre stretch was in fulfillment of President Kufuor's promise that three major roads from the capital to other regions would be reconstructed.

The other roads under consideration are those that link the capital to the Eastern, Western and the Northern corridors.

He explained that bypassing Kyebi and Potroase would reduce the length of the road by 10 kilometres and make it safe. The road that links Kyebi would be maintained.

The project to be funded by the African Development Bank, OPEC Fund and the Ghana Government is expected to be completed in 24 months but Dr Anane urged the contractors to "fast track" it to 18 months.

The Managing Director of SONITRA, Mr J. C. Kalfa, who signed for his company, pledged that the project could be completed in 20 months, but that would depend on weather conditions.

He said the company had started mobilising logistics to start the project by the middle of May. SONITRA has been engaged in road construction in Cote d'Ivoire since 1963 and came to Ghana in 1992.

It built the Kanda Highway and the roads in Dansoman and Darkuman all in Accra, the access road to Tema Harbour and the urban roads in Takoradi.

Mr Kalfa said SONITRA has built about 300 kilometres of roads in the Ashanti and Volta Regions. It has constructed three major bridges in the Western Region and undertook the civil works at the Aboadze Thermal Plant. It has an average annual turnover of about 50 million dollars.