The Ghana Highway Authority has started the procurement process for the surface dressing of the Atebubu town roads as well as the Atebubu - Dromankese - Nkoranza trunk road in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The procurement process would be completed by the end of May this year for works to start in July this year. Dr Richard W. Anane, Minister of roads and Transport said this when Alhaji Amadu Ali, NDC- Atebubu South asked when the Atebubu township roads would be awarded for tarring and when the Atebubu-Dromankese-Nkoranza road would be upgraded and tarred.

The Minister said the 95-kilometre Atebubu-Dromankese-Nkoranza road links Nkoranza in Central Brong Ahafo Region to Atebubu and Kojokrom in the east of the region. Dr Anane said under the 2003 routine maintenance programme, grading, ditch cleaning and gravel patching activities are to be undertaken on the road while engineering studies and design would be completed and award of contract for commencement of works would be made in 2004.

In another development, Dr. Anane said the estimated cost of constructing a bridge at Yeji would cost the country about 1.4 billion dollars. The width of the crossing of the was one kilometre in 1965 but after completion of the Volta Dam the lake expanded so that the crossing between Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region and Makango in the Northern region extended to about 15 metres.

The Minister said this high cost of constructing the bridge in the presence of the cheaper alternative of ferrying between the two towns has made it uneconomic to construct a bridge at the site for the present.

He said the Ministry would in consultation with the Ministry of Energy provide more and safer ferrying services while as a long term measure, consultations would be considered for feasibility studies to assess the viability of constructing a bridge at the crossing point to replace the ferry service.

Alhaji Ali asked whether the ministry would consider increasing the number of pontoon on the river and check the unreliable single pontoon and the Minister said District Assemblies would be required to assist to acquire another pontoon and improve ferry services.

Edward Saliah, NDC-Jirapa asked what measures were being put in place to ensure safety on the Volta lake and the Minister said Cabinet has approved for the Maritime Authorities to take charge of safety on the rivers.