• The president said his government is indeed very good at protecting the public purse since it was able to use 289 million dollars to construct three interchanges in less than five years
• He also said the construction of the Pokuase Interchange shows how committed his government is in the development of the urban centres of the country
• The construction received support from the African Development Bank
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that his government was able to construct three different interchanges in less than five years with an amount of US$289 million as compared to the US$260 million used by his predecessor John Dramani Mahama.
According to the president, the Pokuase Interchange is part of his government’s effort to enhance urban development in the country.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Pokuase Interchange in Accra on Friday, July 9, 2021, the president said even though the initial project was to construct a three-tier interchange, [the] feasibility studies carried out by his government proved that a four-tier interchange will be a better option.
“On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, the then Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo and I cut the sod for the commencement of the construction of the Pokuase Interchange to help solve once and for all the nightmare endured for several decades by within and outside this vicinity, but 36 months later and in the midst of a global pandemic which has brought major disruption to every facet our lives in Ghana and elsewhere the project is being completed.
“I am happy to be here today for the commissioning of the four-tier Pokuase Interchange. The first of its kind in Ghana, the first of its kind in West Africa and the second of its kind in Africa. It is important to put on record that the original contract design was for a three-tier interchange, however, through efficient management by my government the interchange was modified to a four-tier construction with the same construct budget,” he said.
He further stated that, “indeed 289 million dollars have been used by the Akufo-Addo-led government to construct three interchanges, that is Pokuase, Obetsebi Lamptey and Tamale as supposed to 260 million dollars used by the Mahama government to construct just the Nkrumah Interchange.”
The president also said the cost at which the three interchanges were constructed in the country shows that his government is very good at protecting the public purse.
However, the total cost of the construction of the Pokuase Interchange was worth 74 million dollars, with funding from the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana.