Mr. Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minister for Roads and Highways, has stated that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has performed far better than the Mahama-led NDC administration in terms of roads infrastructure.
According to him, between 2017 and the end of 2022, the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia Administration constructed a record 12,830km of roads compared to the 4,636km achieved by the previous administration.
He stated that the 12,830km of completed roads is exclusive of some major road projects which are at various stages of completion across the country.
He mentioned the Ofanko-Nsawam project, the Tamale-Yendi-Tatale project, the Independence Square to Nungua project, the Kasoa-Winneba project and the Adenta-Dodowa road project as not being part of the survey.
According to the minister, the intervention over the last seven years has led to an impressive improvement of Ghana’s road network condition to 44% good, 34% fair and 22% poor as compared to the network condition before the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administration where the total road network size was 78,402km.
He disclosed that 39% of these roads were in good condition, 32% were in fair condition and 29% were in poor condition in addition to the six interchanges and 35 bridges completed across the country.
The Minister disclosed these details when he briefed the media during an inspection the ongoing road projects from Suame roundabout to Asonomaso-Nkwanta currently under construction to ease the traffic on the major roads leading to Ejura, Kintampo and the Northern part of the country.
The Minister also inspected the road from Atimatim to Maase in the Kwabre South District that link Meduma in the Kwabre East Municipality and other roads under construction from Ahwiaa New site to Kenyasi that also links Mamponteng, the Kwabre East Municipal capital.
The Minister was accompanied by Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Nana Osei Bonsu, Mr. Christian Adu Poku and Lord InusahLansah, the MCE for Kwabre East, DCE for Kwabre South and MCE for Old Tafo Municipalities and the NPP Parliamentary candidates in the respective constituencies and the Directors of Highways and the Feeder Roads.
He indicated that currently, more than 10 interchanges and 50 bridges are at various stages of construction nationwide.
He disclosed that at the end of December 2016, the road network was 78,403km, which has increased by 20% to 94, 203km by end of 2023.
The Minister stated that a national road network inventory and condition survey is currently underway and preliminary figures project that the road network size will reach 100,000km by the end of the year.
He reiterated that over the last seven years, a lot of investment has gone into road infrastructure, both paved and unpaved, to improve the riding quality of our roads, the works he said include asphalt overlay, construction, gravelling, reconstruction, rehabilitation and partial reconstruction.
He noted that the government acknowledges that there is still more work to be done and the government remains committed to providing more roads to further enhance our nation’s infrastructure to meet the needs of the people.
Minister Asenso-Boakye noted that Ghana is in an enviable position within Africa’s Road network.
According to data from the World Bank, Ghana’s road density, measured as kilometers of road per 100 square kilometers of land, exceeds the regional average.
He added that Ghana boasts 32.8 kilometers of road per 100 square kilometers, nearly double the African regional average of 17 kilometers.
The significant achievement, he said, was further complemented by our rural accessibility, and said in Ghana, 63% of the population lives within 2 kilometers of all-weather roads, compared to only 47% across the Africa region.
