Roads and Highways Minister, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has alleged that the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration awarded the Adenta–Dodowa road project without making the necessary financial commitments to the contractor.
“Our colleagues (erstwhile NPP Government) used just their mouths to award the project and did little in terms of payment to contractors,” he said on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, September 4.
He said records show the project, valued at over $100 million, received only partial payment, leaving the contractor without funds to continue.
“The difficulty is that, that contractor was given that project of over $100 million, and if I tell you how much that contractor was paid after investing all that money, you will be surprised,” he said.
“If it is just a matter of using your mouth to award projects, everybody can award projects. But the responsibility to raise the necessary funds to pay – that is what shows that you are interested in this job being done,” Mr. Agbodza added.
This, he explained, is why the road has remained abandoned since former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for its construction on August 9, 2024.
Mr Agbodza assured that the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration will prioritise the project, settle the outstanding contract sums, and add extra portions for the same contractor to execute.
The project began on 25th March 2024, and being undertaken by Oswal Investment Limited, an indigenous Ghanaian firm.
It is a 22-kilometre road project that was originally scheduled for completion within 36 months. At present, however, the contractor has abandoned the site due to unpaid contract sums.