Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza, has issued a strict two-month ultimatum to contractors on the Kumasi Inner Ring Road project, demanding an immediate scale-up of equipment and manpower after work reached only seven per cent completion despite consuming nearly 20 per cent of the allotted contract time.
During a site inspection of the 47-kilometre infrastructure project, the Minister expressed disappointment over low site mobilisation and warned that the current pace would require triple the contract duration, a delay the government refuses to grant.
Addressing site engineers, Mr Agbodza emphasised that initial delays surrounding contractor compensation and land access must be offset immediately through accelerated operations.
”When time is lost, it is the responsibility of the contractor to catch up with it,” the Minister stated, adding, “We don’t have excess time anywhere to allocate to you. You are working within a regime where you can work 24 hours. You can work three shifts to be able to catch up,” the Minister urged the contractor.
The Minister instructed the contractor to deploy at least two to three active work gangs per lot across all three project lots, noting that working on only a 10-kilometre stretch was insufficient for a flagship bypass meant to transform transit across Kumasi.
In addition to heavy machinery, Mr Agbodza called for a revamp of the project’s engineering personnel, urging contractors to recruit young professionals, national service personnel, and female engineers from nearby institutions like the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
”We want to see the young engineers, including female engineers, working with you because we want the technology transfer and experience to remain in the Ashanti region,” the Minister noted, calling for visible field engagement rather than desk-based roles.
Clarifying the scope of the infrastructure initiative, the Minister noted that the Kumasi bypass is a distinct project under President Mahama’s regional infrastructure drive, the “Big Push”, and should not be confused with the main Accra-Kumasi Expressway, though both will eventually form a single continuous transport network.
The Minister said he will return in two months to re-inspect site activities and evaluate the contractor’s progress.
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