Project to promote agric along Volta Lake launched

Story: Abdul Aziz
March 12, 2008
A US $5.3 million project has been inaugurated at Akosombo to facilitate the ferrying of agricultural produce from 739 villages along the Volta Lake to urban centres in the country.
The Volta Lake Transportation Improvement project is designed to find a lasting solution to the acute transportation problem confronting the 739 villages along the Volta Lake to reflect the status of the area as the food basket of the country.
The $5.3 million project is being funded by the Millennium Development Authority of Ghana (MiDA) from Ghana’s $547 million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) programme.
At the contract signing ceremony to kick-start the project at Akosombo, Mr Edward Boateng, Chairman of the Board of MiDA, said the construction of two new ferries would augment the fleet of Volta Lake Transport Company to provide critical ferry services to farmlands and communities in the Afram Basin Zone to link Adawso on the southern shore to Ekye Amanfrom on the northern shore.
He said under the project, the floating dock at Akosombo would be rehabilitated to improve the capabilities of Ghanaians in ferry construction, repairs and maintenance through the transfer of technologies into the country.
He further said that landing stages at Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom would be overhauled to provide all-weather protection and adequate sanitation facilities.
Mr Boateng said works on the extraction of tree stumps from the crossing route between Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom would be carried out to eliminate navigational and safety hazards.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pamela Bridgwater, for her part said she was excited by the project, which in the end would enable Ghanaians to build their own ferries and boats through technology transfer.
She said the new ferries would help reduce the number of hours spent to transport goods on the Volta Lake in an economical manner.
She, therefore, commended MiDA for its foresight in recommending the Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC) for such an important investment.
The Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mr I. P. Azuma, said since last year the Volta Lake had not recorded any accident on the lake due to intensive patrolling to enforce maritime regulations.
He said maritime officers had been stationed in all the five major towns along the Volta Lake to check over-loading in wooden boats, which were the cause of previous accidents on the lake.