The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana His Excellency Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on 26th April 2018, broke grounds for the commencement of construction of Tema industrial area roads.

The construction which begins immediately is the first pilot on concrete roads for inner cities and is expected to be completed within 18 months. The first major concrete road, that is the Tema motorway was constructed in the 1960s by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and has lasted for over 40 years.

The project comes with walkways, streetlights, drainage systems and covers Tema Steel Works road, DVLA road, among others.  The project is being financed by the Government of Ghana.

The industrial area roads are the busiest in Tema East and the hub generates a lot of revenue for the country. However, the roads have been in very deplorable state for a very long time, hindering productivity and vehicular movement.

The Vice President said “Today, as part of the transformational agenda of his excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo, we are going to undertake this historic event to break grounds for the construction of concrete roads in Tema.”

He added that Tema as the largest port in Ghana has played a very important role in the country’s economy and is home to many industries hence the importance to provide durable roads to link the industries to the port as well as other parts of the country. He pleaded with Ghanaians to be patient because the roads ministry faces a lot of challenges like the roads fund being put under lock that had to be unlocked, which takes time.

He further implored the public to desist from activities that would reduce the lifespan of the roads, such as overloading of vehicles, washing vehicles on the roads, unauthorized trenching across the roads, construction of uncontrolled speed humps etc.

Hon. Titus Glover, MP for Tema East and Deputy Minister for Transport in his opening remarks expressed gratitude to the government on behalf of the constituency for answering their prayers and constant plea to the Minister of Roads and Highways to rectify the roads. He said, directly and indirectly, jobs would be created and productivity shall increase.

The Roads and Highways Minister, Hon. Kwasi Amoako Attah also charged the contractors (Messrs Joshob Construction Company and Lemef Construction Limited), both local companies, to do an excellent job as he and the people of Ghana would not accept any shabby work. He revealed that Tema Manhean will also get a new road soon. “Ghanaians have the right to ask for better and accessible roads because they deserve it” he said.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Ishmael Ashitey who chaired the occasion said they are confident that Ghanaian contractors can do better which is why the job has been given to them. He then advised that the confidence imposed in them be used to provide very good works

Concrete roads come with benefits such as durability, safety, low carbon monoxide emission, less fuel consumption, resistance to oil spillage from vehicles, among others, far outweighed those of asphaltic and surface dressed roads

To end the event, the Mayor of Tema Metropolitan Assembly Hon. Felix Nii Mensah Anang-La gave the vote of thanks, pronouncing his appreciation to the authorities and entire citizenry for partaking in the event.

MCE for Kpone Katamanso, Hon Solomon Appiah, MP for Tema Central, Hon. Kofi Brako, Tema Manky3, His Majesty Nii Adjei Kraku and Madam Alice Ofori Attah, Managing Director of Tema Development Company (TDC) were in attendance.