Ghana Manganese Company Limited (GMCL) has performed a sod-cutting ceremony to commerce the construction of the 1.2 kilometers Tamso-Nsuta road in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region.

The project, worth more than GHC8 million is being funded by GMCL and is expected to be completed in five months.

Speaking at the function, the Engineering Manager of GMCL, Mr Ebenezer Eshun, said although they had rehabilitated the road twice, it continued to deteriorate and due to that they decided to include it in their budget this year to get it permanently done.

He said after extensive consultation with experts, the company agreed to fix the Tamso-Nsuta road with concrete pavement blocks to ensure its durability.

“At first, we did resurfacing of this road, then the company went ahead to do asphalt overlay, but both did not last. So, after series of engagement with our stakeholders, we realised the best solution was to use pavement blocks as it has lots of advantages,” he stated.

Mr Eshun stressed that completion of the project would help the public carry out their daily work smoothly and facilitate the easy transportation of manganese from their site to the Takoradi Port.

He appealed to the public, especially motorists, to provide the needed support to the contractor to ensure the successful completion of the project as scheduled.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tarkwa Nsuaem Assembly, Mr Benjamin Kessie, commended GMCL for the move and charged them to do more for their host communities as they have operated for many years.

“Fortunately for us the contractor is one we know. Whilham has been doing a fantastic job within our Municipality and beyond. He is a local contractor, and we believe he will give us the quality we expect and also work within time,”he added.

The Municipal Roads Engineer, Mr Derrick Obeng, added that his office would liaise with the contractor to ensure drivers adhered to all the traffic management put in place to enable him to discharge his duties effectively.

“To minimise the impact of traffic congestion during the construction, vehicles traveling from Akyempim area towards Nsuta should use the Tamso New road through Senyakrom to Nsuta and vice versa. Also, vehicles moving from Tarkwa town towards Nsuta area are expected to turn at Asempa hotel junction through Hill top to Nsuta and vice versa,” he advised.