Ho, May 18, GNA - A 10.3 kilometers-dual carriage bypass is to be constructed from Sokode-Gbogame to link the Ho-Aflao highway. The bypass is to open up the eastern part of Ho to development and divert heavy duty vehicles especially those carrying cement from Aflao to other parts of the country from the municipality.

Mr. Stephen Attipoe, Volta Regional Engineer of the Department of Urban Roads, who disclosed these to GNA in Ho, said the country would need external financial support to accomplish the project. He said the short lifespan of roads in the Ho Municipality was largely due to pressure exerted on them by heavy duty vehicles. Mr. Attipoe said Defiat Development Company Limited, a Construction Firm, working on roads in the Ho township, have resumed work on Mawuko, Barracks and Prisons roads, all of which were almost completed. He said four other contracts including those on the Starlets 91 street and "Chop Better-Coca Cola" roads were to be terminated and re-awarded by the end of May this year because contractors to whom they were originally awarded have never reported on site. Mr Attipoe said the Department of Urban Roads was committed to transforming the road network in the regional capital and called for the support of all stakeholders.

He said that a total of 496 kilometers of road were under the Department of Urban Roads in the Ho Municipality, comprising 171 paved and 325 unpaved-gravel and earth roads.

Mr Attipoe said 70 per cent of the 325 roads in surrounding communities were in bad condition but expressed the hope that all those roads would be repaired in the future to facilitate economic activities in the area.