Chinese Government provides RMB 230 million interest-free loan for 17.4 KM Ofankor-Nsawam Section of Accra-Kumasi Trunk Road Rehabilitation and Expansion Project

Project narrative

On November 1, 2002, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Government of Ghana signed an RMB 100 million interest-free loan agreement for the Ofankor-Nsawam Highway Construction Project. This loan carried the following terms: 0% interest, 20 year maturity, and a 10 year grace period. The loan was scheduled for repayment in annual installments over a period of ten years from November 1, 2012 to October 31, 2022. The terms of the loan reportedly specify that the borrower (the Government of Ghana) could repay the loan with “export commodities” or “convertible currencies to be agreed by the two Governments”. The Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Wenchang and President John Agyekum Kufuor signed the loan agreement. Then, on December 20, 2003, the loan was ratified by the Ghanian Parliament. The Chinese Government reportedly increased the value of this loan commitment to RMB 230 million; however, the nature and timing of this “upsizing” are unknown. The project involved the rehabilitation and expansion of the 17.4 section of the Accra-Kumasi (N6) Trunk Road between Ofankor and Nsawam. Chief of Amasaman Nii Amasa praised the project for its potential to lower the high rate of traffic-related accidents on this section of the trunk road. It also included the construction of a 20 meter fly-over bridge over the rail line near Ofankor, which has a 13 ton capacity. China Railway Engineering Corporation and The China Railway No. 5 Group (CR5) were the contractors responsible for project implementation. Construction began in June 2004. The project was officially completed and handed over to the Ghanaian authorities on June 19, 2006.