The Akufo-Addo government could soon be implementing the proposal made by Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference to use concrete for road construction nationwide instead of asphalt.
Speaking at the Lighthouse Chapel’s 2017 Good Friday Miracle Service, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, described the proposal as “pure wisdom” and noted that the Ministry of Roads and Transport were undertaking the comparative analysis and costing of the proposal.
In March, the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference urged the government to increase road tolls and further suggested that the proceeds be used to improve roads.
According to the proposal, this new road network was to be built using concrete; specifically 10 inches of concrete with the width of three lanes 12 meters wide, for several miles.
The group cited the Tema motorway as an example of a concrete road that has served Ghana for decades.
The Vice President concurred with the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference’s assessment, noting that “most of the other asphalt roads, after a year of rainfall, are gone.”
“We will consider doing this and it will be transformational because as for laying concrete, we can all do it in Ghana. You don’t need to get anybody to come and lay concrete for you. Any mason from any village can come and lay the concrete and go on,” Dr. Bawumia said.
He explained that, following the costing, government realized that a kilometre of a concrete road will cost $3.8 million and that of asphalt will cost $2.8 million. But the concrete road will last for 40 years whilst the asphalt will last for only 10 years, he added. “… So $3.8 million for 40 years and 2.8 for 10 years – the economics is very simple. So we are very excited and with the help of the Roads Ministry very soon we should be able to announce the new transformation in our road construction in Ghana,” Dr. Bawumia said.
Source: Daily Graphic
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75% of werstern road are tarred and you think they are not smart to use concrete. Abi you want epamd your corruption net
This guy is full of lies about his facts and gullible as we may we trust him. What a pity
Stop talking ***barred word***. Both concrete and asphalt can outlast the shoddy roads you build in Ghana. The issue is not the concrete or asohakr but lack of supervision, corruption through kickbacks to government folks, allocating roads to cronies Instead of competent companies etc. the reason why the Tema motorway had lasted this long is due to proper work and inspection by kwame Nkrumah and his team. Sometimes I wonder if Ghanaians can ever think about their future.
May be the Veep is not aware that the Roads Ministry has a Materials Laboratory. The Building and Roads Research Institute BRRI of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, has researched this and proferred solutions on materials use for road construction and Veep must better look there. The issues are more than what he is saying. A simple economist will say that but this is an engineering issue. I like Veep, he provokes thinking
Who told this false prophet Bawumia that concrete road economically better than asphalt? Aren't we producing oil which produces asphalt? This is a lazy way of discouraging constant road maintenance. Even a snowy countries use asphalt for their roads which last very long. It costs more to maintain concrete when it spoils. The issue is, we should encourage a maintenance culture that provides employment for workers who doing it.
NPPigs are displaying their sstupidity. In fact they are drunk with the power Ghanaians hardly give them that they (Ghanaians) have risked to give them but they now think that they have secured the power for life. But the time their intoxication of the power release them they will find themselves in a perpetual opposition. Okwasia na s3 odidi mee a na ne wir3firi okyina.
It is scientifically wrong to suggest that concrete roads outlast asphalt. I have used asphalt roads that were built more than 40 years ago in America. It is also factually wrong that a km of asphalt road cost more than $2m (if u take away bloating of prices). The reason our roads do not last are as follows: 1, corruption, 2, use of inferior materials, 3, poor supervision, 4, engagement of incompetent contractors, 5, vehicle overloading, 6, poor design specifically of T junctions instead of Y junctions, 7, speed humps, speed islands and rumble strips, etc
This is not a discovery by your Bawumia. We have all along known this. Do you know what your forking UP=NPP people told Ghanaians when Nkrumah was building the motorway with concrete? Another factor that you and your kind should look at is the effect of this policy on the price of cement to Ghanaians. Increased demand for cement for road construction will be lead to increase in Price of the commodity. This is why there is always a policy dilemma as to which way to go; should we use cement for road construction, increase the price of the commodity, make it unbearable for people to build and solve our housing problem OR should we use the cement for road construction and have longer lasting roads?
This is not a discovery but your bawumia. We have all along known this. Do you know what your forking UP=NPP people to Ghanaians when Nkrumah was building the motorway with concrete? Another factor that you and your kind should look at is the effect of this policy on the price on cement to Ghanaians. Increased demand for cement for road construction will be lead to increase in Price of the commodity. This is why there is always a policy dilemma as to which way to go; should we use cement for road construction, increase the price of the commodity, make it unbearable for people to build and solve our housing problem OR should we use the cement for road construction and have longer lasting roads?
This should be very easy to execute.The prisoners can play a major role in the labor by reducing cost. The army should also be integrated in the development of the nation by them build roads and bridges. A country like North Korea uses it military in the construction of buildings and roads.