Osino: Govt to clamp down on illegal miners destroying road project sites

The Ministry of Roads and Highways has begun taking steps to flush out illegal miners who have taken over sections of the project sites of the bypasses being constructed on the Kumasi-Accra Highway.

Contractors working on the Osino and Anyinam bypasses are challenged by the activities of illegal miners who have occupied the right of way of the project.

At the Konongo project site of the bypass, contractors are also dealing with swampy areas as they continue with site-clearing activities.

“Swampy sections are very soft with a lot of water, and you cannot pass a road on it. You have to remove it, and then when you reach a reasonable level of firm ground, you put in your boulders to make sure the underground water does not affect your road. So, if you do not have the equipment to deal with it, it is really difficult to work within such sections.”

Eight local contractors are currently engaged in constructing the four bypasses covering over 45 kilometers specifically on the Konongo, Enyiresi, Anyinam, and Osino sections of the Kumasi-Accra highway.

The completion of the bypasses is expected to reduce travel time, vehicular traffic, and road crashes on the highway.

Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, expressed satisfaction during his inspection of ongoing works and pledged the government’s commitment to addressing challenges by providing financial resources for the project.

The Minister bemoaned the activities of illegal miners and expressed the government’s commitment to fight the menace and also make funding available to ensure the completion of the project.

“A lot of the sections that had been worked on already are so much deteriorated by galamsey activities. At one of the stretches at the Osino bypass, the contractors continue to encounter galamseyers, but we have a way of dealing with them.

“I want to assure the contractors that the government stands solidly behind them, and as much as possible, we will continue to make resources available to them because this is a mega project being carried out by the government, and I believe that it will not stall.”

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