The contractor working on the Accra Tema Motorway project has been directed to operate day and night as the government pushes to recover lost time on the 19.5 kilometre road.
Roads and Highways Minister Kwame Governs Agbodza issued the directive during an inspection of projects in the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday, August 19.
The project, being executed by Maripoma Enterprise Limited, is about 50 per cent complete but has slipped slightly behind schedule.
Disruptive work should move to night
Mr Agbodza asked the contractor to use the government’s 24 hour economy policy to extend construction into the night, particularly for activities likely to disrupt traffic.
“A project like this, elsewhere, will be done 24/7. There’s no reason why you cannot work even more at night than the day,” he said.
He wants daytime activity scaled down where necessary, with dedicated lanes maintained for motorists. The corridor is one of Accra’s busiest, leaving little room for prolonged closures or poorly managed diversions.
The wider project is expected to transform the existing corridor into a 10 lane motorway comprising a reinforced concrete freeway and urban highway lanes, according to the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
Bridge completed without incident
Mr Agbodza acknowledged that activity had increased since his previous inspection, estimating that the contractor had completed an additional 10 per cent of work.
He was particularly pleased with the completion of the main bridge without an accident involving road users.
“My fear actually has always been the risk to the public, because it’s an intersection that is in use 24/7. And you actually completed it ahead of schedule and without any incident to the public,” he said.
The minister’s praise came with pressure. He reminded the contractor that motorists have endured congestion and diversions for an extended period and expect the work to finish on time.
Contractor confident of meeting deadline
Project Engineer Kwabena Bempong confirmed that construction had reached approximately 50 per cent.
He said progress on the remaining pavement works should be quicker once the more difficult foundation stages are completed.
The project, which began in January 2024, is expected to be completed by August 2, 2027. Officials have maintained that no extension has been programmed.
“We are hopeful that we can still complete this on schedule,” Mr Agbodza said, urging the contractor to increase its pace and meet the agreed target.
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