Motorway Lights To Bounce Back

Motorists plying the Accra-Tema Motorway would from January 2012 heave a sigh of relief, following the completion of the street light project along the dual carriage road, Deputy Minister of Energy, Emmanuel Kofi-Armah Buah has said. The road had long been experiencing total darkness, thereby causing serious problems to motorists. But, Mr. Buah appearing in Parliament last Friday, November 11, 2011, to answer questions relating to his Ministry, on behalf of the substantive Minister, said these problems would soon be over, since work on the road network has already started. His response was in connection to a question asked by the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Alfred Kwame Agbesi, about the total cost of the street light project carried out along the Accra-Tema Motorway, and what steps have been taken to make the street lights functional. According to the deputy Minister, the said project is in phases and power would be restored upon completion of each phase, to aid motorists in their day-to-day activities along the corridor. The Contract for the project, Mr. Buah noted, was initially sealed on October 31, 2005, between the Electricity Company of Ghana, on behalf of the Ministry of Energy and All Alfra Electric Company, at a cost of GH�1,832,450.21 to cover a period of 18 months after advance payment to the contractor. However, after covering a distance of 20.1km with 759 poles, the project was brought to a halt, as a result of underground cable theft, Mr. Buah added. The Ministry of Energy, he said is currently applying a new method to ensure that the cables are �much more secured than previously. The old network is therefore being replaced with new ones,� he added.