According to the project manager, the 31.2km Assin Fosu-Assin Praso road rehabilitation in the Central Region is 65% finished.

The project, which will cost US$62.3 million, is being funded by the Japanese government and is anticipated to be finished by November of next year. This is the second stage of the national trunk’s (N8) rehabilitation project, which links Cape Coast and Kumasi.

The project is part of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA), which aims to improve regional economic integration, according to Katsumura Akihisa, First Secretary for Development Cooperation, Japan Embassy in Ghana, who visited the site yesterday to assess the status of the work.

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Funding for the Assin Fosu-Assin Praso road project

He clarified that the Japanese government had been involved in the road’s repair because it was an important transportation route from Cape Coast to Kumasi. According to Mr. Akihisa, the entire 176 km road was finished in 1994 thanks to a loan from the Japan Official Development Assistance (ODA).

However, he said that the state of the roads has declined as a result of the tremendous growth in traffic. Making it challenging to transport goods and services between neighboring regions. He claimed that the Assin Fosu-Assin Praso road rehabilitation will guarantee more economic activity and continuous, safe transit.

Mr. Akihisa reaffirmed the Japanese government’s commitment to aiding Ghana’s development through infrastructure and other programs that would promote economic progress.

According to Tanimoto Masataka, project manager, the first stage of the project involved rehabilitating the 60-kilometer stretch of road between Assin Praso and Bekwai. He added that the second phase will involve the dualization of a 1.2km road in the middle of Assin Fosu.

Furthermore, Masataka said that the project had been delayed for a year because to the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the project also required for the reconstruction of a bridge over a railroad underpass. As well as drainage systems that connect Assin Fosu and Assin Praso.

He requested action from the government to rehabilitate a different section of the route from Cape Coast to Assin Fosu. In order to preserve the integrity of the repaired sections and improve travel safety.

The Chief Executive of the Assin Fosu Municipal Assembly, Nicholas Fiifi Baako, thanked the Japanese government. For its assistance and pleaded for the project to be expanded to include a 500-meter stretch of road.