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The African Development Bank has approved an $83.9 million loan to support the Accra Urban Transport project, which seeks to improve the road infrastructure in the Greater Accra region in Ghana.

The AfDB said its financing will fund the construction of a modern 3-tier highway interchange at Pokuase, a suburb of Accra, and 10 kilometres of interconnected urban roads. The infrastructure will be operational by 2020.

“The city of Accra is facing the challenge of rapid urbanization and motorization, which has crippled the current transportation system resulting in huge traffic congestion and gridlock and negatively affecting urban mobility and productivity,” said Amadou Oumarou, AfDB’s Transport and ICT Department Director. “The project will help ease congestion and enhance the competiveness of Accra as a major industrial and regional trade hub in West Africa.”

The Pokuase interchange is a critical missing link of the Central Road Corridor, which is the strategic road connecting the Port of Tema to Kumasi, Ghana’s second major city, and onto Burkina Faso. When completed, the interchange and its surrounding roads will address the growing mobility demand in the Ga West area of northern Accra. The region is an industrial zone with numerous factories and agro-industries, which require a good transport infrastructure for easy movement of goods for imports and exports.

“The project will stimulate industrialization, provide income generation opportunities, promote affordable transport services and generally improve the livelihoods of people in the project area” said Mam Tut Wadda, the project’s team leader at the AfDB.

The Accra Urban Transport project complements other AfDB-financed projects dedicated to Accra’s development. These projects include the expansion of the Kotoka International Airport, Ghana’s main airport, and the 15 kilometre dual carriageway from Awoshie, which links with the Pokuase interchange.