President John Dramani Mahama has said the government’s Big Push road projects will be implemented in phases due to limited financial resources.
Speaking on the first day of the two-day Resetting Ghana Tour in the Upper West Region, President Mahama said government could not address the country’s road infrastructure needs simultaneously because of budgetary constraints.
He made the remarks while inspecting the Wa–Han Big Push road project.
“Everybody thinks that we can do all their roads at once. We cannot do that. There’s a limit to the budget that we have,” President Mahama said.
Big Push to be rolled out in phases
According to the President, government has prioritised major trunk roads, particularly those linking regional capitals, before turning its attention to feeder roads connecting communities and towns to the main road network.
He said the phased approach would allow government to gradually address Ghana’s infrastructure deficit.
“And so there’s Big Push Phase 1, we’re scoping Big Push Phase 2, and there’ll be a Big Push Phase 3,” he stated.
President Mahama explained that completing major trunk roads first would improve access for residents in surrounding communities.
“As we go, we’ll move from the trunk roads to the other feeder roads that link up with the trunk roads,” he said.
He added that several other roads had been identified for development in the Upper West Region and would be tackled progressively as funding became available.
Wa–Bolgatanga road to be asphalted
President Mahama also expressed confidence in the quality of work on the Wa–Han road project and said he expected to return to the region the following year to commission the completed road.
“We’ll be here next year to come and commission the road, and I’m sure that the quality of the road will be good,” he said.
He further disclosed that the road would eventually be sealed with asphalt from Wa to Bolgatanga after the completion of the double-surface dressing.
“After we do the double-surface dressing, we will then seal the whole road with asphalt from Wa to Bolga, so that at least we know that for the next 30 years, the road will last and will require just very little maintenance,” he said.
