Hamburg (Germany) -- The World Bank has provided 220 million dollars to improve roads in the country, President John Agyekum Kufuor announced at Hamburg, Germany, on Thursday.

He said the government of Germany had provided funds for the repairs of the Sogakope-Aflao road while the African Development Bank (ADB) would assist in the rehabilitation of the Accra-Sogakope road.

President Kufuor was addressing the Ghanaian community on the second day of his three-day official visit to Germany at the invitation of Chancellor Gerhard

Schroeder. President Kufuor said government would construct a 160- kilometre canal on the Accra plains to boast rice production for local consumption and export.

"This is part of government's efforts to ensure the production of high quality rice by the year 2010, he said. Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance said government's economic policies and programmes were geared towards an improvement of the current growth rate of 4.5 per cent to five per cent. "We want to ensure that Ghana grows at a rate unprecedented in Africa," he said, adding that government had drafted a bill on over aged vehicles imported into the country.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said under the new bill, 12 years has been stipulated, as the average age for vehicles and those above 12 years would attract special penalties. He said for passenger vehicles and trucks, the average age would be 15 years and those above the approved age would attract punitive measures.

The Minister said the Bill was aimed at controlling petrol consumption and protecting the environment from exhaust-fumes. Mr Osafo-Maafo said imported goods for clinics, hospitals or educational institutions would not attract any duty at the port of entry and reminded Ghanaians that those labelled in the name of people would attract duty. He said a special desk has been established to deal with people and institution that import goods to assist development in their communities.