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President John Evans Atta Mills has directed the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning to, as a matter of urgency, release US$100 million for work to begin on the Asikuma �Hohoe road in the Volta Region as part of the eastern corridor road project. The Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr. Joe Gidisu, who made this known to the Daily Graphic yesterday, said procurement procedures were underway for the award of the contract for the construction of the road from Dodopepesu to Nkwanta under the European Union facility. Additionally, he said, there was a $250 million facility from Brazil for the construction of the road from Damongo through Yendi to Watuga, spanning 42 kilometres. He said the proposed $1.8-billion facility from the International Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which was submitted to Parliament for approval , was confronted with some technical challenges, hence the suspension of that facility. Mr. Gidisu said the construction of the eastern corridor road and other roads had been packaged to be executed under the Exim Bank loan facility, which is currently in its final stages of consideration. He said the President gave the directive as a result of the government�s commitment and determination to ensure the early takeoff of the eastern corridor project.