The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has decided to contribute 10 per cent of the 15 per cent counterpart funding supposed to be paid by the Ghana government for the implementation of the Eastern Corridor road project. The Eastern Corridor project, stretching from Tema through Asikuma, Hohoe, Jasikan, Bimbilla to Yendi and Nakpanduri to Kulungugu, at the north eastern border with Burkina Faso, serves as the main link between the southern and the northern parts of the country and between Ghana and neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The Overseas Operations Managing Director of CSCEC, Me Li Jiqin, told the Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, during a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu, yesterday that the board of directors of the company and its investment partners had passed a resolution to contribute the 10 per cent of the counterpart funding. The Chinese delegation could not, however, give details on what the 10 per cent represented in monetary terms, while details of the cost element of the entire project were also not immediately available: Work on the Eastern Corridor road, being executed by CSCEC, has been packaged to be executed under a Chinese Exim Bank loan facility which is currently in its final stages of consideration Major components of the project are the construction of a single two-lane carriageway (3.5 metres per lane) with a 2.5-metre hard shoulder on each side longitudinally, the provision of drainage structures, mainly pipe culverts and drains, the provision of lay-bys in specific towns and villages, repairs of bridge structures and relocation of utilities. The need for the project has been further heightened by the desire of Ghana's landlocked northern neighbours to cart their imports through Ghana's sea ports. Early this month, President John Evans Atta Mills directed the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to, as a matter of urgency, release US$l00 million for work to begin between Asikuma and Hohoe in the Volta Region as part of the eastern corridor road project. Mr Jiqin said CSCEC had the capacity to execute quality work right from the designing stage to the actual execution of the road project. Besides, he said, his outfit could implement the project before the scheduled completion period He said CSCEC was ready to execute the project as soon as the government gave it the green light. Mr Mahama said one of the major factors hindering the execution of projects was the contribution of the counterpart funding by the government. Therefore, he said, it was welcome news that the board of CSCEC had resolved "to help Ghana cover the 10 per cent". He said negotiations on the Chinese Exim Bank loan facility were almost concluded and indicated that the first tranche of the disbursement would be done soon. He said the execution of the Eastern Corridor Road project would allow the free flow of goods and services and consequently contribute to the economic growth of the country. The Vice-President said the next target was the execution of the Western Corridor road. Meanwhile, he said, the government was going to push for the Accra-Kumasi highway to be made a dual carriageway "to make traveling faster and safer". Mr Mahama lauded CSCEC for its involvement of local contractors, adding that that would ensure skill and technology transfer. Design drawings of the project from Hohoe to Poase, covering 50km, have been completed and the execution of the project will be funded as part of phase 1 of the Eastern Corridor project under the Chinese funding. The stretch from Dodo Pepesu to Nkwanta, covering 46km, is being funded wholly by the European Union, while the ECOWAS Commission has provided funding for design work on the NKwanta-Bimbilla-Yendi portion of the road. A US$250 million credit facility from Brazil which was initially meant for the construction of a hydroelectric darn on the Oti River has been converted by the Ghana: government to the construction of the 126-km Damanko-Sakpeigu portion of the project. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana