The Government of Ghana has signed US$81.67 million loan with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the construction of the Eastern Corridor roads.

The facility will co-finance sections of the 695-kilometer Eastern Corridor road linking Accra to the Sahel region.

The 695-kilometre corridor project is meant to link Accra with the northern hinterland by avoiding the long known central corridor. This would also reduce the distance to about 200km.

This was made known at an official signing ceremony between the Government of Ghana and management of AfDB as well as OPEC.

The loan will be re-payed in 25 years but there is a grace period of five years.

The facility will, however, complement the financing of the government’s Year of Roads Agenda for 2020.

Giving a breakdown of the payment plan, a Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare said: “The interest on the loan is 1% per annum, there is a service charge of 0.7% per annum on the principal amount and there is a commitment fee or charge of 0.5%; we’ve a grace period of five years.”

She said the signing of the Eastern Corridor Road Development Programme was part of the government’s larger strategy for delivering excellent road network in Ghana, adding, there were a lot of on-going roads and bridge constructions all aimed at expanding road infrastructure networks as well as expanding rural and urban development initiatives in the country.

For his part, Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, Anthony Karbo, said since the President declared 2020 as the ‘Year of Roads’, the ministry was willing and ready to mobilise both internal and external resources towards the development of roads in the country.

“In this regard, the Ministry of Roads and Highways sees development partners, and for that matter African Development Bank as a key partner in this venture,” he said.

The Phase 1 of the project covers the construction of roads and community developments along; Dufor Adidome- Asikuma Junction (39.2km), Asutuare-Aveyime (23.9km) and the construction of two interchanges at Dufor Adidome and Asikuma Junction.