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“People in Accra and the bigger cities who claim, we the people in this part of the Volta region can sit there and do their politics. We here can feel the impact and we appreciate what President John Mahama has done for us”... Nana Saafo Attara II, Adontenhene of the Dodi Traditional area in the Volta region.

Nana Saafo Attara II who is also the Chief of Pepesu could not hide his excitement when he spoke to journalists ahead of the official commissioning of the 46.4 kilometer Nkwanta-Dodi-Pepesu highway by President John Mahama who is on his ‘Accounting to the People Tour of the Volta region’.

According to the Adontenhene of Nkwanta, the completion of the project has reduced travel time from four hours to 45minutes. This according to him has enhanced economic activities in the area and is changing the phase of communities along the stretch.

He said, "We are exceedingly appreciative of what the President has done for us and we will surely reward him accordingly".

The youth who also spoke to this newspaper said the new road has made it easy to access nearby villages.

"Now we make more money as compared to before....now I make about a hundred cedis a day, before I used you make about 20 cedis," says Sadick who operates an Okada, commercial motorcycle transportation.

The Nkwanta-Dodo-Pepesu highway forms part of the Eastern Corridor Road which has been on the drawing board for over four decades.

The 695 km stretch, is made up of a complex mix of roads traversing the Greater Accra, Volta, Northern and Upper East regions. 

It stretches from Tema through Akosombo, Juapong, Hohoe, Jasikan, Kadjebi, Nkwanta, Kpasa and Oti Damango to Bimbilla, Yendi, Garu, Misiga and to Kulungugu, in the Upper East Region.

The Eastern Corridor road project became synonymous with the Mills-Mahama Administration which promised to take the bull by the horn to construct it.

Mobilization begun during the late Prof. J.E.A. Mills’ regime and was stalled briefly amidst financial constraints but President John Mahama has since taken up the initiative which has now brought smiles to the faces of indigenes in the area particularly, and those who can now access the full stretch without headaches if finally completed.

Besides direct impact on the lives of people in communities along the stretch, the Eastern corridor road will enhance transportation of Cargo from the Ports to Tamale and beyond and stuff from the food baskets in the three regions of the North to the South.

Currently, haulage truck drivers who lift cargo from Tema are compelled to use the Nsawam-Kumasi highway to the north, a distance that is costly and slows down business.

Funding is from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) which is providing 83.33 per cent of the contract sum, and the government of Ghana, 16.67 per cent.

Packaged under Lots Five and Six, the project is being executed by two Brazilian firms. Lot Five, which starts from Oti-Damanko to Bimbila and Yendi, covers a distance of 86km, while Lot Six covers 123.6 km stretches from Yendi through Gushiegu to Nakpanduri.

On Tuesday, President John Mahama officially commissioned the project and assured the people of the region of sustained effort to complete the Eastern corridor roads.

 “We are working hard on the other stretches of the Eastern corridor roads because I know that this is a project that is high on the hearts of the people of the Volta region” he said.

The President also paid a courtesy call on the Chiefs of Hohoe promised to asphalt the 10km Hohoe Township roads.  He also disclosed plans to revive the cocoa growing in the area and appealed to the Chiefs to make land available.

Paramount Chief of Akpafu Traditional Area, Nana Afrifa Akuamoah commended the President for work done so far and said the resolved Alavanyo-Nkonya conflict will also open up the area.