The Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, has disclosed that the contract for the Odaw River drainage project had been terminated due to the contractor’s poor performance.
The drainage system commenced in July 2024 and comprises the construction of a 1.5 km box culvert structure from the Nima-Paloma to the Odaw River for a duration of 18 months.
“However, due to poor performance, the contract for this work has been terminated. At the point of termination, there were still some ongoing works at critical stages which required immediate completion,” he noted.
According to the Minister, although the contract was terminated, several critical works remained incomplete and required urgent attention to prevent further flooding.
The critical works include the demolition of the outfall wall of the Odaw channel to prevent sediment build-up and flooding, the completion of downstream drainage connections to the Odaw channel, and the construction of an upstream drainage section that had previously been demolished.
Addressing Parliament on June 29, he said the Ministry subsequently sought approval from the World Bank to undertake the immediate completion of the outstanding critical works while preparations are made to repackage and re-tender the project.
“The Ministry, therefore sought approval from the World Bank to immediately complete this critical works whiles re-packaging of the project continues,” he stated.
The Minister noted that the next phase of the project depends on securing commitment authorisation from the Ministry of Finance to facilitate the re-tendering process.
“Mr. Speaker, to enable us re-tender and repackage works, we require commitment authorization from the Ministry of Finance to continue the process,” he added.
He disclosed that the Ministry would, in the coming days, submit the necessary documentation to the Finance Ministry for approval to enable work on the project to continue.
He said the desilting and dredging contract for the Odaw river is being implemented as part the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project.
The works commenced in February 2024 and are expected to be completed by December 2027, with funding provided through the project.
