The Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, is financing the construction of the Tema Motorway roundabout and detailed design study of trunk road N8 with a Grant amount of six billion, two hundred and fifty nine million Japanese Yen (JPY 6.259 Billon), equivalent to about 57 million US Dollars (USD 57 million) as part of Japan’s long-lasting bilateral cooperation with Ghana.
Speaking at the Sod-cutting ceremony, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Mahamadu Bawumia thanked the Government of Japan. In his words: “The support from the Government of Japan over the years has been tremendous. JICA is supporting other projects apart from this one and the Government and the people of Ghana are grateful.”
The Chief Representative of JICA Ghana, Mr. Hoshi Hirofumi, said: “This Project forms part of the West Africa Corridor Development Growth Ring (WAGRIC) Master Plan implementation. This Master Plan was supported by JICA as the strategic development plan for four countries, Burkina Faso, Cote d’ivoire, Ghana and Togo. The Tema Motorway Roundabout is the starting point of the popular Eastern Corridor Road and from regional integration perspective, the improvement of the Roundabout will equally improve Tema Port operation as well as trade among Ghana and her neighbours.”
The Supervising Consultant is CTI Engineering Co. Ltd, while the main contractor is a consortium of Shimzu Corporation and Dai Nippon Construction with Core Construction Ghana Ltd as the sub-contractor. The intersection will take 28 months to complete that’s June 2020.
Over the years, Japanese Yen Loan and Grant aid schemes have been used in providing over 700 kilometers of national trunk roads, a number of bridges and powers in the past. JICA has been cooperating with Ghana for the past 55 years through several schemes including Japanese Yen Loan, Grant Aid and Technical Cooperation, training programs in Japan and dispatching volunteers.
The event was attended by many dignitaries including the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Tsutomu Himeno.
By: Sheila WILLIAMS
