Residents of Mallam in Accra and its surrounding communities will soon heave a sigh of relief as work begins on a 500-metre drainage system to address the perennial flooding in the area.
A visit to the construction site by the Ghanaian Times yesterday saw workers and engineers already on site demarcating portions of the road for the commencement of work.
Already, a Total filling station which had been constantly blamed for causing flood in the area has been pulled down for the expansion of the concrete drain that is expected to cut through the main Mallam Junction-Kasoa highway.
Funded by the World Bank through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, the drainage project forms part of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water scheme for the country.
The GAMA Project Coordinator, George Asiedu in a telephone interview explained that the commencement of work had become necessary following an intensive stakeholder engagement to permanently halt the flow of water unto the road after heavy rains.
According to Mr. Asiedu, the Mallam drainage project, expected to be completed by end of June this year, would be done in three phases and “may lead to some traffic diversions on the road to allow for free flow of work”.
He said that the main road would be blocked on Thursday to extend the drain underneath, adding that GAMA has discussed that with other stakeholders including the Roads and Highway Authority, Motor Traffic Unit of the Ghana Police Service, among others, to help manage the traffic that the project might create.
The Project Coordinator said plans were underway to run television commercials on the road diversions as well as intensify public education on the project to ensure that road users and residents go about their duties without interruption.
Asked what measures had been put in place, in the interim, to prevent flooding in the area as the rains had already set in, Mr. Asiedu explained that “for now, w3e will not change the diversion of the water until we complete this project so that water can flow through its normal route”.
He disclosed that work would soon begin on the Kaneshie-First Light stretch, which becomes flooded during heavy rains.
“Under the GAMA project, we sought to address some localized areas that have been experiencing flooding. With the help of experts, we identified five areas in Accra including Mallam and Kaneshie. We have taken the lead on the Mallam project and within the next two weeks, we should start work on the Kaneshie-First Light drain as well as to remove the bottlenecks that cause the flooding”, Mr. Asiedu said.
A visit to the construction site by the Ghanaian Times yesterday saw workers and engineers already on site demarcating portions of the road for the commencement of work.
Already, a Total filling station which had been constantly blamed for causing flood in the area has been pulled down for the expansion of the concrete drain that is expected to cut through the main Mallam Junction-Kasoa highway.
Funded by the World Bank through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, the drainage project forms part of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water scheme for the country.
The GAMA Project Coordinator, George Asiedu in a telephone interview explained that the commencement of work had become necessary following an intensive stakeholder engagement to permanently halt the flow of water unto the road after heavy rains.
According to Mr. Asiedu, the Mallam drainage project, expected to be completed by end of June this year, would be done in three phases and “may lead to some traffic diversions on the road to allow for free flow of work”.
He said that the main road would be blocked on Thursday to extend the drain underneath, adding that GAMA has discussed that with other stakeholders including the Roads and Highway Authority, Motor Traffic Unit of the Ghana Police Service, among others, to help manage the traffic that the project might create.
The Project Coordinator said plans were underway to run television commercials on the road diversions as well as intensify public education on the project to ensure that road users and residents go about their duties without interruption.
Asked what measures had been put in place, in the interim, to prevent flooding in the area as the rains had already set in, Mr. Asiedu explained that “for now, w3e will not change the diversion of the water until we complete this project so that water can flow through its normal route”.
He disclosed that work would soon begin on the Kaneshie-First Light stretch, which becomes flooded during heavy rains.
“Under the GAMA project, we sought to address some localized areas that have been experiencing flooding. With the help of experts, we identified five areas in Accra including Mallam and Kaneshie. We have taken the lead on the Mallam project and within the next two weeks, we should start work on the Kaneshie-First Light drain as well as to remove the bottlenecks that cause the flooding”, Mr. Asiedu said.
Original Story on:
PeaceFMOnline
Popular Posts
Scroll to Top