$95m Urban Transport Project for next year

Back page (lead) July 14/2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine, Lagos

MAJOR road infrastructure works in key cities to pave the way for the smooth transformation of the transportation system in the country will begin in June next year.
The $95 million project, which forms part of the country’s Urban Transport Project, will see the introduction of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to ease the serious traffic situation in the major cities of the country, including Accra and Kumasi.
The BRT system will also improve commuter time on the roads, reduce transport fares, reduce fuel consumption and importation, particularly in the face of soaring crude oil prices on the international market, as well as improve air quality, which is gradually worsening as a result of heavy emissions from vehicles.
One of the proposed routes in Accra which will be part of the pilot scheme is the Accra Central/Graphic Road/Kaneshie/Odorkor/Mallam corridor, as well as the Accra Central/Liberation Road/37 Hospital/Tetteh Quarshie/Madina/Adenta corridor. Up to 3,000 passengers will be carried on the corridors per hour.
The Deputy Director in charge of Planning and Development at the Department of Urban Roads, Dr Daniel D. Darko, told the Daily Graphic in Lagos that the designs for the project were almost completed and actual physical construction works would begin with Accra in June next year.
That was after Dr Darko, who led a 30-member delegation from Ghana, had familiarised himself with the BRT system as implemented by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
With what LAMATA referred to as the BRT ‘Lite’, the system has drastically transformed Lagos, the most densely populated state in Nigeria, as far as commuter transport and traffic flow are concerned.
It was observed during the tour that special designated routes had been built for only BRT buses to enable them to avoid the heavy traffic on the normal roads.
In addition, several bus terminals and pedestrian flyovers have been built to directly connect the commuters to the buses and also make easy the acquisition of tickets, some of which could last for a month.
Dr Darko said “this should not be beyond us because if the BRT in Lagos, which is more than six times populated as far as vehicles are concerned, has been able to solve most of the traffic problems, then we will be better off because our population is far smaller but with many roads”.
To him, a better management of the roads, with the new designs coming up, would make Accra and its sister cities more beautiful and decongested.
On how to make the project more acceptable to the people, he said the project department had embarked on a number of stakeholder forums in Accra and Kumasi, saying that they would be sustained.
Dr Darko admitted that as a result of the construction works to be done, there might be inconveniences which might spark public agitation.
“But we will use the media to effectively disseminate the full benefits of the project when completed and the need for them to sacrifice. We have a communication specialist who has been tasked to draw a major media campaign plan and work done so far is encouraging but it will be intensified and sustained,” he added.
On measures to surmount the anticipated challenges, he said, “We have engaged the politicians to understand the importance of the project and its effect on society and the environment and the co-operation so far is encouraging. Meanwhile, we will keep them informed at every stage because that is key.”
Dr Darko said, for instance, that there was an advisory committee, chaired by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and co-chaired by the Minister of Transportation, and noted that so far the collaboration had been encouraging and expressed the hope that as time went by, the interest would be greater “because the project can only succeed with a strong political will”.
He said the various transport unions and the commuters themselves will not be left out as was in the case of LAMATA.
Dr Darko expressed the hope that Ghanaians would buy into the project and give it the needed support.
Members of the delegation were also impressed about what they observed and noted that “if Nigeria, with its huge population, has done it, Ghana can do it better because our population in Accra cannot match that of Lagos”.
The Managing Director of LAMATA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, told the Ghana delegation that Ghana, just like Lagos, needed an independent body to be managed by experts in the transport system to enable it to work.
“You need the political support also, but intensify your lobby to avoid the political leaders from putting people without the proper competence to manage the project,” he advised.
He noted, however, that the collaboration between the politicians and the technocrats could not be avoided “because they will bring the money”.
Dr Mobereola wished Ghana well in its move to replicate the BRT in Lagos and elsewhere and called on Ghanaians to support what he described as a “worthy cause”.