The Member of Parliament for Bantama Constituency, Francis Asenso Boakye, has raised strong concerns over plans to reduce the Suame Interchange from a four tier design to a two tier structure, describing the move as a major setback for Kumasi and the country.

In a facebook post he stated that, the original four tier design was not chosen for political or visual reasons.

He explained that it was based on detailed traffic studies, engineering analysis and long term urban planning to deal with heavy and growing congestion in Kumasi, which remains Ghana’s second largest city and an important transport centre.

He pointed out that areas such as Suame, Krofrom, Bantama, Abrepo, Anomangye and Magazine already face daily traffic jams that waste time, increase fuel and transport costs, raise accident risks and reduce the quality of life for residents and businesses.

In his view, a two tier interchange will not solve these problems but will only shift congestion from one point to another and turn the project into an expensive bottleneck.

Mr Asenso Boakye stressed that engineering designs for all four tiers have already been completed and that foundation works started based on a full integrated system.

He warned that scaling down the project at this stage could lead to delays, higher costs, contractual challenges and long term technical problems.

He questioned the funding argument being used to justify the change. He noted that government was able to mobilise funds for other major road projects and even classified the Suame Interchange under the Big Push programme.

For that reason, he argued that Kumasi should not be short changed under what he described as selective financial constraints.

The Bantama MP urged authorities to look beyond short term decisions when planning infrastructure.

He explained that in urban transport, under designing projects often causes more harm than doing nothing at all, because cities end up struggling with congestion for decades.

He maintained that Kumasi deserves infrastructure that matches its national importance, adding that the city needs forward looking investments that meet current needs and support future growth, rather than what he described as half solutions.

By: Jacob Aggrey