The Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwasi Amoako-Attah has broken the grounds for the commencement of works for the upgrade of the Tema Community 3 beach road junction and new port access road at a ceremony in Tema today Thursday 13th December, 2018.

Hon. Kwasi Amoako-Attah (MP), Minister of Roads & Highways in his keynote address stated that today’s event represents the commencement of the first phase of the Tema Arterial Road project, which is in line with the Government’s vision of improving the road network in the Tema Metropolis. The second phase, he noted, will involve the reconstruction of the Hospital and Meridian Roads all the way up to the Ashaiman intersection and linking the Accra-Tema Motorway.

“Upon completion of these roads, the increased traffic volume to and from the new port will experience less delays in travel time” he said. The Hon. Minister added that, the project has also been designed to improve traffic flow in the Tema Metropolis and reduce congestion to road users”.

Hon. Amoako-Attah commended Meridian Port Services (MPS) for their corporate social initiatives especially in the road and transport sectors. He acknowledged that MPS was responsible for the construction of bypasses within the four quadrants of the Tema motorway roundabout also as a CSR project to improve traffic management at that location. “The project is currently being enhanced with the development of a 3-tier Interchange under JICA funding” he added.

He encouraged other corporate institutions and organizations to partner and support Government in the delivery of road transport infrastructure through various forms of Corporate Social Responsibility interventions as displayed by the Meridian Ports Services on this project.

Mr. Mohamed Samara, CEO of MPS said the objectives of the project, which is being solely financed by MPS, is to improve road conditions, significantly reduce travel time and cut down on accidents that occur due to commuters’ eagerness to get out of the gridlock within the Tema enclave. He added that “the upgrade of this road, like our previous CSI projects, demonstrates our shareholders dedication to human life, and commitment to provide solutions that make the greatest difference in our communities”.

In a brief speech, Hon. Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover (MP), Deputy Minister of Transport noted that, the vision of His Excellency President Nana Akufo Addo, “Ghana Beyond Aid through industrialisation and creating equal opportunities for all” cannot be achieved without an efficient transport and logistics system to act as a catalyst to the industrialisation effort. “It is therefore imperative to invest significantly in the transport infrastructure base to facilitate industrialisation and be at par with international standards” he added.

The Project will be undertaken as a Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) contract. The Project Proponent is expected to recover its investment through a road levy to be applied at the port. The Department of Urban Roads will be the implementing agency for the project with the Ministry of Roads and Highways providing oversight policy direction and technical backstopping.

China Harbour Engineering Company Limited will undertake the improvement works with AECOM Professional Services (Ghana) Limited acting as the Engineering Supervising Consultant. Physical works are expected to begin immediately with completion scheduled for the end of June of 2019, before the opening of the new port.

This project, which is a Corporate Social Initiative of the Meridian Port Services, is valued at 40 million cedis. It is expected to be completed before the opening of the new port in June 2019.

Also present at the ceremony were the Board Chairman of GPHA, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, the two Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi and Hon. Anthony Abayifaa Karbo; Hon. Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover (MP), Deputy Minister of Transport; Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister for Trade and Capt. Ebenezer Afadzi, Director of Ports-Takoradi.