Asukawkaw, (V/R), Oct. 1, GNA - Work on the 70 kilometres Asukawkaw-Dambai portion of the Kpando-Worawora-Dambai road project, which commenced on November 26, 2007, is well behind schedule. So far 5.56 percent instead of the scheduled 11.59 percent of work has been done on the GH¢48,397,645.45, Government of Ghana (GOG) funded project, being executed by Shinsung Engineering and Construction Company Limited of South Korea.

Mr Seth Komeng-Ofori, Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) Resident Engineer brought the situation to the attention of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport at Asukawkaw as part of a week-long inspection of road projects in the Volta region.

He attributed the delay to a number of natural, social, technical and labour challenges.

He mentioned persistent heavy rains since June, delay by the Minerals Commission to grant permit to the contractor to operate a quarry, the relocation of electricity poles and the approval from Lands valuation Board for payment of compensation for structures that should be demolished as some of the challenges.

Others were "GHA's central materials laboratory's investigation into the cause of cut slope failure of earth material" on a section of the project area, the high cost, proposed by the people of Katanga for the relocation of their old graves in the right of way, including demands by communities in the project area for compensation to pacify their gods. Machine operators and other skilled labour recruited from Accra and Tema have also left the site.

Mr Komeng-Ofori said community related problems have been resolved with the intervention of the District Chief Executive. He said the contractor has drawn a work plan for the dry season between December 2008 and May 2009 to make up for the time lost. Members of the Select Committee expressed their concern about additional cost implications for the delay in the project, scheduled to be completed in May 2011.

They suggested to the contractor to recruit and train skilled labour, such as machine operators from around the area, as was done by Zoomlion and Newmont Ghana. Mr Yaw Ntow-Ababio, Vice-Chairman of the Committee, who led the team, asked the contractor to draw the attention of the Committee to problems it might encounter in future.