The government of Ghana and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed an agreement for the Accra Urban Transport Project, which includes the construction of a three-tier interchange at Pokuase on the Accra-Nsawam road.

The project will cost $94million. Out of this, the AfDB is providing about $83million and the remaining $11.7m will come from the government of Ghana.

The interchange is expected to ease traffic flow considerably and shorten travel time for commuters.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Accra, Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said there would be a tender process to give Ghanaian contractors an opportunity to bid for the project.

“We expect that we are going to work within the stipulated time to complete this project on schedule. I think by the time we complete this project, we will have not another Dubai but another Singapore in Ghana because it is just amazing,” he stated.

He added: “We encourage commuters to cooperate with government and engineers. This project is also going to go on tender. It is not sole sourcing. Ghanaian companies would be allowed to take part in the tender, it’s going to be a competitive international tendering and then we believe that Ghanaians would have value for money. I’m particularly interested in other projects apart from the road. We are building schools, a mortuary, market and others as part of the project framework.”

Resident representative for AfDB, Marie-Laure Akin Olugbade, noted: “The project is really for us a continuation of the Awoshie-Pokuase project that we have done and we believe this is the direction we should take as much as possible. … It will ease heavy traffic congestion, but it is also an opportunity for us to significantly contribute to a better urban development management.”