By Lawrencia Akoto Frempong
Ashaiman, Aug. 15, GNA — Road and drainage projects across the Ashaiman Municipality are about 70 per cent complete, with Mr Ernest Henry Norgbey, the Ashaiman Member of Parliament (MP), urging contractors who have suspended work to return to site and accelerate completion.
Mr Norgbey, together with Mr Freeman Tsekpo, the Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Assembly members and other stakeholders, inspected ongoing road and drainage projects across the municipality to assess their progress and identify challenges affecting their timely completion.
The MP said the projects, aimed at improving road connectivity and addressing drainage and flooding challenges, included approximately 60 kilometres of drainage work, of which about 45 kilometres had been completed.
He said some completed drainage sections required backfilling and other finishing works, while contractors at various sites were expected to proceed to earthworks and bituminous surfacing.
“Most of the contractors are done with the drains and all that they are about to do now is the earthworks and just after the earthworks, then they put the bitumen,” he said.
Mr Norgbey, however, said it was difficult to give residents firm completion dates because some contractors were yet to return to site.
He said provisional timelines could only be provided when contractors were physically back on site and actively working.
The MP acknowledged that some contractors were facing operational challenges and said the assembly and political authorities were working to help address the difficulties.
He said although authorities had a responsibility to put pressure on contractors to deliver, it was also important to understand and address the challenges affecting their operations.
Mr Norgbey expressed the expectation that some outstanding issues could be resolved by the end of August, stressing that this was his personal expectation and not an official deadline.
He assured residents that he, together with the MCE and other relevant authorities, would continue to monitor the projects and push for their completion.
He cautioned that contractors who failed to make significant progress could face public scrutiny, including the possibility of having their names disclosed after further monitoring.
Mr Tsekpo, the MCE, commended residents for their cooperation in removing structures that obstructed the construction of roads and drains.
He said several property owners had voluntarily supported the removal of structures marked for demolition, allowing contractors to access areas required for the construction works.
“So anywhere that we marked for removal, for the drain to pass through, those properties have been taken off, and the contractors have also worked at those places,” he said.
The MCE said some contractors were still working on outstanding drainage sections, citing Lebanon, where approximately one to two kilometres of drains remained, and Fitter Line, where about 800 metres of drainage works were yet to be completed.
He said drainage works at Official Town had been completed, while additional works were ongoing along the Afariwa route.
Mr Tsekpo said the outstanding drainage sections needed to be completed before the municipality could consider the drainage component of the projects fully delivered.
He said the Afariwa-Newtown stretch would also benefit from further road work, including earthworks, stabilisation and bituminous surfacing.
According to him, the contractor was expected to commence base work and stabilisation within the following week, based on indications from the municipal road engineer, before applying the final bituminous surface.
Mr Tsekpo also addressed concerns about the quality and durability of roads being constructed in the municipality, explaining that road contracts were awarded by the central government through the Ministry of Roads and Highways, with specifications, including road thickness, determined under the contracts.
He said the responsibility of the assembly engineers was to ensure that contractors executed the works according to the approved specifications.
Mr Tsekpo said properly sealed roads were expected to last beyond five years, although regular maintenance by the assembly would be necessary to keep them in good condition.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Lawrencia Akoto Frempong