?15b for road project in Kumasi

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has awarded 15 road projects in the metropolis on contract at an estimated cost of ?13 billion.

The projects, when completed, will help to improve the road network in the Kumasi Metropolis.

Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, who announced this at a forum in Kumasi, said the contracts were awarded last year through the Department of Urban Roads.

They include the re-surfacing of Asafo-Collegiate road, Pankrono Estate road, phase two, of Odeneho Kwadaso road phase two and regravelling of selected roads, including the Boadi-Ayeduase and Tafo-Bremang roads.

Mr Jumah said more roads and drains, especially in the various suburbs, will be tackled this year.

The forum gave him the opportunity to highlight activities of the assembly and the achievements chalked so far in trying to restore Kumasi to its Garden City status.

Mr Jumah said that over the past years 12 schools, including Asuoyeboah and Abrepo M/A schools whose roofs were blown away by rainstorm were re-roofed.

He said Dompoase, Atonsu and Ahensan M/A schools were also constructed whilst work on the construction of Bomso, Oforikrom, Wawase M/A schools classrooms, staff quarters and toilet at Asokore Mampong special school are progressing.

He said contracts for seven projects were also awarded recently for the construction of classroom blocks for Buobai and rehabilitation of State Boys Schools, among others at the cost of several billions of cedis.

In addition to this, he said, the KMA has established a metro wide orchestra for school children in Kumasi, the first of its kind in the country.

He said the assembly has started a school-twinning programme with schools in Europe and the US and is also working to equip all schools with computers.

He observed that Kumasi has always been a vibrant commercial city but the recent collapse of industrial concerns, particularly the sawmills, has brought to the fore the need for new and fresh investments and diversifications.

He said in the pursuit of this, he and some other members of the assembly have undertaken a number of foreign trips "to draw the attention of the international investment community to the potentials of Kumasi, a hub to penetrate the interior of the country and its neighbours."

Mr Jumah noted that there are plans to upgrade the Kumasi Airport into an international standard and the KMA has intensified its drive to get aviation operators to move their operations here to serve countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Cote d'Ivoire.

He said during a recent trip to London, he managed to establish contact with a Ghanaian who has agreed to set up an airline for travellers who will like to fly direct to Kumasi to take advantage of it.

He said the assembly is also arranging to host a Home Coming Summit on July 21 to 28, 2002 for citizens of Kumasi and Ashanti to encourage them to come and invest.

He said a group of investors from Korea and US has approached him to discuss the possibility of funding the redevelopment of the Kumasi Central Market.

He said the market, constructed between 1936 and 1939, has served the city extremely well but the time has come for its demolition and reconstruction before disaster strikes since after years of constant and massive use, the structure is no longer strong enough to warrant any long use.

He said a new design has been drawn to ensure that instead of the present 8000 stores and stalls, a sprawling edifice of 45,000 stores and stalls with all the modern facilities is constructed in its place at the cost of ?72 million dollars.

The metro chief mentioned that when he came to office, there was hardly a streetlight functioning with all the ceremonial streets completely dark.

He said the situation was so bad that a recent study had put the cost of repairs of streetlights in Kumasi at around ?30 billion.

He said the assembly has made strong representations to the Ministry of Energy to fund the upgrading and rehabilitation of all transformers and streetlights in the metropolis.