By Michael Foli Jackidy
Ave-Dakpa (V/R), July 18, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has expressed optimism that completed sections of the ongoing Ho-Aflao Highway reconstruction project will be commissioned within the next six months, with substantial portions of the road expected to be ready for use by early or mid-2027.
The President gave the assurance on Friday, July 17, at Ave-Dakpa during the commissioning of the Akatsi North District Police Headquarters as part of his working tour of the Volta Region.
He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improving road infrastructure across the region, describing the road sector as one of the major beneficiaries of the Government’s flagship Big Push programme.
President Mahama recalled that during the 2024 election campaign, he travelled on the Ho-Aflao Highway and found it in a deplorable condition, which prompted him to pledge that its reconstruction would become a priority under his administration if elected.
“I remember promising the people that if elected President, the Ho-Aflao road would be my number one priority, and today I am pleased with the progress of work on the project,” he said.
The President explained that to accelerate construction, Government divided the highway project into five sections and awarded each section to a different contractor rather than assigning the entire project to a single contractor.
According to him, the strategy had improved efficiency and facilitated monitoring, as contractors were able to work simultaneously while the Government tracked progress on all sections.
Although the project has a scheduled completion date of December 2027, President Mahama said several sections were progressing ahead of schedule.
“One section is almost 75 per cent complete, while others have reached between 30 and 35 per cent completion. I am hopeful that within the next six months I will begin commissioning completed sections of the Ho-Aflao Road, and by early or mid-next year, significant portions of the road will be ready for use,” he stated.
He commended the contractors, engineers and technical personnel for the quality and pace of work and encouraged them to maintain the momentum to ensure early completion of the project.
President Mahama further announced that Akatsi North would benefit from additional road infrastructure under a proposed US$500 million World Bank-funded Rural Roads Programme, which Government intended to submit to Parliament for approval the following week.
He explained that while the Big Push programme focused on major trunk roads such as the Eastern Corridor Road, the Ho-Atimpoku Highway and the Dambai Bridge, Government remained committed to rehabilitating feeder roads to improve access to farming communities and stimulate local economic activity.
As part of the programme, he announced that the Logakope Junction–Agormor–Kove Road in the Akatsi North District had been selected for rehabilitation.
The President assured residents that Government would continue to make annual budgetary allocations for road development across the country.
“If your road has not been captured this year, it could be included next year or in 2028. We are determined to improve road connectivity in every part of Ghana,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah