The Minister of Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has rejected claims that the government has abandoned the Accra-Kumasi bypass project, insisting that construction is ongoing and contractors remain on site.

Mr Agbodza said the project remains one of the government's priority road projects and that work is progressing despite recent reports suggesting that construction had stalled.

The Minister made the remarks on Tuesday, September 29, during a tour of the project as part of efforts to assess progress on the project.

He said the physical presence of contractors and the work being carried out on the road should put to rest claims that the project had been abandoned.

“I want to commend the contractors working on the bypass project. This is a testament to those who find it mere propaganda to be talking about what they don't know,” he said.

Government has not suspended road projects

Mr Agbodza maintained that the government had not directed any road contractor to suspend work on ongoing projects.

He said the current administration had also not halted any road project for investigations, stressing that the government's position was to keep projects moving.

“President Mahama's government has never asked any road contractor to stop work or suspended any work for investigation or anything,” he stated.

According to the minister, the government intends to continue with the bypass project and other road developments rather than allow political disagreements to interfere with the execution of projects.

“We believe that the country has moved on from that kind of ancient politics where if you can't pay for something, you'd rather bastardise it and pretend that there was a problem with it. So, we are moving forward with this,” he said.

He noted that while media reports could prompt officials to respond, road construction was different because progress could be seen on the ground. He therefore maintained that there was no need to rely on explanations in the media when the state of the project could be directly observed.

Mr Agbodza expressed confidence that the Accra-Kumasi bypass project would be completed, reiterating that it remains a priority for the government.

“We believe that this road will be completed just as the president's priority project. This is also a priority for government,” he said.

He commended the contractors working on the project for remaining on site and continuing construction after being encouraged to return.

The Minister said the government would continue to monitor the project and inspect its various sections to assess the progress being made.

He maintained that the government's objective was to ensure that the bypass project and other priority road projects were completed rather than abandoned.