The Minister for Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has said that the stalling of construction work on the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Polimakom Road was at the request of the contractor, Queroz Galvao, contrary to what was said to be as a result of funding challenges.
Speaking to Journalists on Wednesday after he made a stop at the popular kulaa spot in Bolgatanga to inspect the level of work, Mr. Asenso Boakye noted that the stalling of construction of the road followed the request of the contractor.
His assertion sharply contradicts events leading to the contractor packing out of site.
One major activity that led to major works stalling has to do with the government of Ghana embarking on both domestic and external debt restructuring.
With the government still in talks with external creditors, it became apparent that the Bawku road will suffer similar fate due to its funding being sourced externally.
It would be recalled that despite considerable work that was ongoing along the stretch, the contractor early 2023 abandoned the work and vacated the site, a development which was tied to funding challenges.
Stephen Pambiin Jalulah, Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, who spoke to Bolgatanga based A1 Radio in March 2023, had said the road stalled because government failed to honour its obligations to foreign banks.
But assuring residents of the region that work on the road will resume soon, Mr. Asenso-Boakye stated that the project stalled because contractor demanded that some amendments be made.
“The project as you know stalled briefly. It is so because at the request of the contractor, they needed some amendments to be made and this is one of the first decisions that I have to do as a road minister. And the issues surrounding the amendment have been resolved. And I do so with pleasure because government considers this project as very important one,” he stated.
“I want to assure the good people of Bolgatanga, Bawku, Pusiga and the entire Upper East Region that the contractor will come back to site as soon as possible and complete the rest of the work”.
Upon inspecting the Chuchuliga- Sandema Road, he noted that the reason for the stalling of work on major roads in the region is technical.
