Completion of Ofankor-Nsawam Highway Delayed; Contractor to Submit Revised Date

Ing. Kwabena Bempong, the lead resident engineer on the Pokuase-Nsawam Highway project, has revealed that the planned July 2024 finish date for construction will be postponed and extended.

Engineer Bempong stated that the substantial remaining tasks will prevent the project from meeting the original July deadline.

He informed Bernard Avle, host of the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM, that while the deadline will not be met, the project’s contractor has not yet provided a revised completion date.

“We have requested the contractor to give us a revised programme and obviously for a project like this, we need to have an extension of time approved by the Ministry of Roads and Highways and until that, we cannot say anything.

“So far as we are concerned, the completion date is July but we all know that it is not possible so the contractor will have to give us compelling reasons why it is not possible to complete it [the project] on the date that was originally scheduled.”

Engineer Bempong attributed the delay to the relocation of utility lines and the compensation of individuals affected by the project.

“Relocation of utility lines and longitudinal drains are some of the major reasons the project has been delayed. We are relocating electricity, water and communication lines.

“The other challenge is the relocation of people affected by the project. There are people who are trying to injunct the project and we still have litigations. We are two years into the project and we still have some of the utility lines in the road space.”