The Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr. Governs Kwame Agbodza, has issued an ultimatum to all contractors working on the Accra-Kumasi bypass, directing them to return to their respective sites by the end of this month or formally abandon their contracts.
Mr. Agbodza gave the directive on Friday during an inspection of the Sofoline Interchange project in Kumasi.
He revealed that the original scope and budget for the bypass have escalated dramatically from GH¢1.9 billion to nearly GH¢6 billion.
He explained that the massive cost increase stemmed from inadequate preliminary assessments rather than political decisions.
According to the Minister, previous planning rushed the project without establishing the true baseline costs.
He stated that there was not enough work done to determine the right cost of the project. “We rushed into it, and unfortunately, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under President Mahama will now have to do the heavy lifting by correcting that”, he said.
Addressing contractor grievances regarding pending compensation, Mr. Agbodza assured them that the ministry plans to settle all outstanding issues next week.
He emphasised that once those financial and administrative hurdles are cleared, the government expects full operational resumption across all sections of the bypass.
Mr. Agbodza reaffirmed the government’s commitment to delivering high-quality road networks across the Ashanti Region and the country at large.
He affirmed that the ruling NDC government does not take the votes or the support of Asanteman for granted, emphasising that the Accra-Kumasi bypass remains a critical priority that will be completed, despite the financial realignment.
