MiDA Gives $101m For Tetteh Quarshie-Mallam Road Project

By Edmund Mingle
Thursday, 23 October 2008

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) which is managing the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) has allocated $101million for the reconstruction of the Tetteh Quarshie – Mallam road in Accra.
The amount covers the construction itself and a compensation package for some 1,700 structures that would be affected along the 14-kilometre stretch.
The construction has been divided into two phases, with the first phase involving the construction of the three-lane dual carriageway from Tetteh Quarshie interchange to Apenkwa, near Achimota, which starts at the end of this month.
At the end of the construction, the road which is currently a single lane carriage way, would have three lanes, eight interchanges and several access links to ensure good traffic flow.
Koranteng Yorke, Infrastructure Manager of MiDA, told the Times, during a sensitisation programme in Accra to educate and dialogue with residents along the stretch that the first phase were expected to be completed in 30 months.
The sensitisation programme formed part of the Environmental Assessment Impact of the project which requires that adequate resettlement measures be developed to deal with the concerns of those likely to be affected by project.
Mr. Yorke said that facilities to be affected include both movable and immovable structures, mostly used for small scale businesses along the road.
He said the original right of way, which is the width, was reduced from 90 metres to 82 metres to avoid affecting too many structures along the corridor.
On Tuesday, August 1, 2006, the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Ghana Compact was signed on behalf of the government of Ghana together with Ambassador Daniel Danilovich, the Chief Executive of the Mellennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
With the signing of the compact, the MCC agreed to grant to the government an amount not exceeding US$547,009,000 during the compact term to enable the government to implement the programme and achieve the objectives.
Unlike other traditional development assistance programmes where the donor proposes how funds are used, countries selected under the MCA propose programmes to receive funding.
The MCA , introduced by the US to increase aid to developing countries is designed to allow the developing world to take ownership and responsibility for funds provided by the MCC.