No fewer than 400 structures in the Upper East region have been marked for demolition amid the ongoing reconstruction of the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakon Road, engineers have announced.
The imminent destruction, notwithstanding a compensation package that may accompany it, would leave a sour taste in a thousand mouths when the same bulldozers that sparked widespread celebrations at the arrival of construction machines on the much-lamented road in 2016 now begin to pull down houses, stores and office blocks along the way.
The engineers revealed this to Starr News when the Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Ayine Bukari, took an unannounced inspection tour of some major roads under construction in the region Monday.
“Bolga alone, more 100 structures will be affected. Bazua, a minimum of 20 and maximum of 50 buildings will [go down]. Bawku, more than 300.
We are talking of a total between 350 and 450 structures. It is not only the buildings. Temporary structures, residential buildings, commercial structures, electric poles, waterlines – all of them will be affected.
We are working within about 22 metres of road width that include walkway, drains and space for construction equipment to turn around,” Ing. Francis Hammond, the Chief Resident Engineer for the project, said.
Touching on compensation package for the would-be project-affected persons, Ing. Hammond said: “That is usually by the government’s rules.
Generally, your place must be valued and you must have the requisite permit. There are other factors that may come on board even if you don’t have a permit.”
Queiroz Galvão, a Brazilian company contracted to upgrade the Tamale Airport to an international standard and tasked to reconstruct the Kwame Nkrumah Circle into what is now known as the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, was awarded the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakon Road project in 2016 at the contract sum of Gh¢612 million.
Minister recommends termination of Mawums contract The Brazilian construction company began work on the road in July last year and stated it would complete the project within 910 days (30 months).
On a road that is 116 kilometres long, work done so far has covered 9 kilometres- with the first coat of bitumen stretching from the White Volta beyond Binduri.
Another construction company, Mawums, had been contracted to reconstruct 13 kilometres of the same road by the same Mahama Administration that later awarded the rest of the stretch to Queiroz Galvão.
The Upper East Regional Minister expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far by Queiroz Galvão, extending rare handshakes to the engineers at intervals as he moved around with an entourage of officials from the Regional Coordinating Council.
But, delivering frank remarks about the work done thus far by the Mawums Construction Limited, the Regional Minister made strong recommendations for an immediate termination of the contract.
The contractor, who was not spotted on site during the inspection tour, is said to have only laid a crashed-rock base on one half of the dual-carriage on the 13-kilometre-long portion awarded the firm.
“This is the time for us to ensure that the contract is terminated and added to this main contractor (Queiroz Galvão) to complete the work properly.
I’m appealing to the Minister of Road to [have] this contracted terminated and added to the main contractor. I wish that the minister would look at it seriously and terminate that contract immediately from Nangodi to Red Volta.
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