Central Regional Director of Ghana Highways Authority Kofi Boama-Djan, says the collapse of Cape Coast quarry, the only quarry in the Region, has made it difficult for road contractors to readily procure chippings for effective work. He said most of the road contractors in the Region have to either travel to Greater Accra or Ashanti Regions to purchase chippings, thereby delaying their work and at extra cost. Mr Boama-Djan announced this when members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport inspected some urban and feeder roads awarded on contract by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly as part of their week-long visit to the Region.
The committee led by its Chairman, Albert Kwaku Obbin, inspected the upgrading of the three-point-nine kilometre Brimsu Water Works road, five-point-six kilometre partial reconstruction of the Adisadel College and OLA estate road and the three-point-four kilometre surfacing of Abura-Wiamoa and Cape Coast Polytechnic roads all estimated at about GH¢1,450,Ghana Cedis.
Mr Boama-Djan expressed concern about the encroachment of lands designated for road construction, as a result of which more than GH¢ 2,700 compensation has been paid to the affected people. He said each day new structures such as residential accommodation, fuel and gas filing stations sprung up along these designated areas thereby making it very difficult to expand such roads. Mr Boama-Djan appealed to the committee to help educate the public not to build close to roads which would eventually be expanded.
He said inadequate staffing was affecting the effective monitoring and supervision of road construction in the Region and appealed for efforts to address the problem. Mr Obbin who is also Member of Parliament for Prestea-Huni-Valley, expressed appreciation for work so far done on the roads since the contracts were awarded in June last year and are expected to be completed next year.
