Government is awarding 36 additional road projects as part of efforts to improve on the poor road network in the Upper West Region.

These, in addition to the 78 already existing projects, brings the total number of road projects to be delivered in the region to a total of 114.

Mr Akwesi Amoako Atta, the Roads and Highways Minister who announced this at a News conference in Wa, said the region currently has only 10 per cent (586kms) of its total road network size of 5,798kms paved.

Categorizing the road network situation in the region, Mr Amoako Atta, noted that 40 per cent (2,300kms) were good, 32 per cent (1,875kms) fair, and 28 per cent (1,623kms) were considered to be poor.

The Roads and Highways Minister noted that with the award of the projects, over 26 per cent of the total road network in the region would be under construction in less than two months.

Major roads covered by the projects include; the Tumu-Han-Lawra road, Wa-Han road, Fian-Wahabu road, Wa-Bulenga road, Ga-Wechiau road, Wahabu-Funsi-Yala road, Nadowli-Lawra-Hamile road, Wa-Nyoli-Sawla road, Tumu-Hamile road and the Kulun-Ambalara bridges among others.

Both the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Studies and the Wa Polytechnic would benefit from a combined 35km internal roads project to give the two tertiary institutions a facelift.

Mr Amoako Atta said under President Akufo-Addo, the region had its fair share of road projects, noting that road infrastructure was considered the pivot of all development, hence the declaration of 2020 as the year of roads by the President.

He said road transport constituted almost 98 per cent of all transport in the country, adding that it was therefore not a mere coincidence that the focus had been on roads.

Responding to a question on the challenge with payment of road contractors to deliver projects, Mr Amoako Atta noted that they identified sources of funding for all projects and also had a proper payment management system.

“That is why today all contractors that were awarded contracts were on site,” he said.

Mr Amoako Atta accompanied by his Deputy, Mr Anthony Abaifaa Karbo, Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih and other high ranking officials of the Roads and Highways Ministry inspected some of the road projects along the Nadowli-Lawra-Nandom-Hamile stretch and the Tumu-Han-Wa stretch.

At Lawra, he inspected the Dipke Bridge and pledged government’s commitment to construct the bridge to facilitate the movement of goods and services among Ghanaians and their Burkina Faso counterparts.

The Roads and Highways Minister was on a week-long working tour of the Northern, North East, Upper East, Upper West, and the Savannah Regions of the country to familiarize himself with the progress of work on ongoing projects.