Parliament has approved a $500 million loan facility between the Government of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group to finance the Market Access and Connectivity Project.
During the debate on the matter, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem, Deputy Minister of Finance, stated that $491 million of the funds would be allocated to road construction and maintenance, while $9 million would support capacity building for the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Feeder Roads Department, the Land Valuation Division, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, the Minister of Roads and Highways, assured legislators that constituencies not captured in the current phase would be included in the next stage of the project.
He noted that a second phase was being packaged to cover underserved districts and regions.
Mr Issac Adongo, the Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, highlighted key findings in the Committee’s Report, noting that inadequate transport infrastructure remained a major constraint to agricultural development, and the loan formed part of government’s broader investment in rural infrastructure.
By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
