The Ministry of Roads and Highways has stated that it has made the required plans to fix all substandard roads leading to the country’s numerous petroleum tanker yards within the next six months.
Nasir Ahmad Yartey, the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, stated in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM that the Tema Oil Refinery road, which was the source of the commotion, was being repaired until the rains came and halted the work, rendering it impassable.
“I must state that the road in question has a contractor who is currently widening it. The challenge was that, usually, the culvert and drainage have to be built before the main road construction begins, but unfortunately, the contractor could not begin before the rains set in.”
The announcement comes after the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union and the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) Tanker Drivers agreed to call off their sit-down strike over bad road conditions.
Mr. Yartey went on to say that plans have been made to have more machinery on the various building sites to help with road construction and truck transportation.
“The contractor will increase the number of machines on the road and start improving the surface of the road. It will take three weeks to improve the surface of the road, but the main road will be rebuilt to the specifications in the contract, which will take about six months. The contract will stick to that work schedule.”
“The temporary measures he will add are to ensure that while he works on the culverts and drainage system, he should improve the riding surface of the road during this rainy season to make sure that the tankers have a smooth ride as they do their work.”
The suspension of the strike is conditional on the government and the contractor agreeing to stay on site until the work is completed, according to Raymond Aflo, secretary of the Ghana National Petroleum Drivers Union.
