The Chairman of the Roads and Transport Committee, Kennedy Nyarko Osei, has disclosed that the Committee is set to visit several ongoing project sites to assess their progress.
The Committee, he said, has specifically arranged visits to the Kasoa-Winneba Road and the Dodowa Road Project on Thursday to inspect these sites to evaluate the contractors’ progress and completion plans.
He was updating the media Tuesday, June 25 on a meeting the Committee convened over the weekend to discuss several issues including the new Civil Aviation Authority Act and the Ghana Shippers Authority Act, both of which are set to be laid before Parliament.
He explained that the Committee’s agenda includes additional site visits to projects such as the Boankra Inland Port project, the Mpakadan Railway project, and the Nungua Interchange.
“We believe it is within our rights as a Committee to visit these project sites, provide advice, and ensure that the projects are on track,” the Chairman stated.
He also addressed the issue of container movement from Tema and Takoradi ports to the northern part of the country and the costs involved.
According to him, the initial idea of having an inland port is to reduce the travel distance for those from the northern part of the country, and thus preventing the deterioration of the trunk roads due to heavy usage.
He stressed the financial challenges in completing the Eastern Corridor Railway Line, which could cost over $2 billion.
“Given the investment required, the government is prioritizing the completion of the inland port to attract private investors for the railway project.”
“Government cannot fund all these projects concurrently, so the strategy is to develop the inland port first to pave the way for investors,” he added.
Hon. Osei Nyarko invited the media to join the Committee on their visits to provide the public with accurate updates on the progress of these critical infrastructure projects.
“We are in this together, and I urge you to guide and inform the Ghanaian people about the ongoing projects,” he said.
The Roads and Transport Committee, he said, is obligated to ensure that all major transport projects are progressing efficiently and benefiting the nation’s infrastructure and economy.