Department of Feeder Roads to terminate Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu road contract – Minister

The Department of Feeder Roads has initiated the necessary contractual process to terminate the Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu road contact in the Upper East Region.

Mr Kwasi Amoako-Attah, the Minister of Roads and Highways, said outstanding works on the Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu road contract would be repackaged with the extra drainage structures to be provided on the Pelungu-Sakoti section for re-award after the termination.

The Minister made the revelation on the floor of Parliament in his response to questions by Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nabdam.

The MP asked the Minister about the status of the Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu-Sakoti road, which was under construction but currently appears to have stopped.

He also wanted to know from the Minister about the status of the Kongo-Bongo Soe (Akayonga) road.

The Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu-Sakoti road is a 16.5km engineered road located in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.

The Minister said the Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu (7.5km) section of the road was an earth road in poor condition whilst the Pelungu-Asakoti (9.0km) stretch has a gravel surface in fair condition.

Concerning the Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu feeder road (7.5km), Mr Amoako-Attah said the contract for the bitumen surfacing of the Asonge-Zalerigu-Pelungu feeder raod (7.5km) was scheduled to commence on 22nd May 2018 for completion by 21st May 2019.

He said the contractor abandoned the site after achieving physical progress of 23 per cent and that warning letters were issued to the contractor to reactivate the site but it continues to be inactive.

He said the Department of Feeder Roads had initiated the necessary contractual procedure to terminate the contract and repackage for award under the 2023 budget.

Touching on the Pelungu-Sakoti feeder road (9.0km), the Minister said the contract for the rehabilitation of Pelungu-Sakoti (9.0) was awarded as part of the contract titled “Rehabilitation of Zuarungu-Kongo Feeder Road and other (40.60km).

He said the contract commenced on 22nd May 2018 and was scheduled for completion on 21st August 2019 but was extended to 20th February 2021 due to additional works issued to the contractor.

He said the specific activities carried out on the Pelungu-Sakoti road included; clearing and formation of the road. construction of drainage structures and graveling of the entire 9.0km which were completed in August 2019, and that there had been a washout at km3+070 where a box culvert is located.

He said hydraulic and hydrological studies were to be carried out to determine the size and number of extra drainage structures to be installed within the affected section to provide adequate capacity to prevent future overtopping of the road.

With regard to the status of the Kongo-Bongo Soe (Akayonga) road, the Minister said the 16.5km road was in poor condition.

He said the road links Kongo in the Nabdam District to Bongo Soe (Akayonga) in the Bongo District, which are all communities located in the Upper East Region.

Mr Amoako-Attah said the road was awarded on contract for spot improvement under the contract titled “Spoy Improvement of Bongo-Balungu-Namong feeder roads and others (40.4km).

He said the contract was scheduled to commence on 18th June 2018 to be completed 17th June 2019; adding that the intended completion date was extended to 17th February 2021 due to the additional works.

“The contractor has so far worked on the Bongo-Balungu-Namong feeder road (8.0km) and is yet to work on the Kongo-Bongo Soe (Akayonga) road,” Mr Amoako-Attah said.

“Work completed to date is 39 percent physical condition.”

He said the Department of Feeder Roads was taking the necessary steps to get the contractor back to the site to complete works on the Kongo-Bongo Soea (Akayonga) road.