President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday visited Dredge Masters in Accra to have first-hand information on the level of work on the desilting of the Odaw River and the Korle Lagoon.
Dredge Masters Ltd has since February 2019 removed over one million cubic meters of waste materials from the Odaw River and Korle Lagoon.
This was disclosed by the Hydrological Engineer of Dredge Masters Ltd, Ing.Wise Ametefe when the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo visited the company.
Nana Akufo-Addo was happy when Managing Director of the company Captain Khan took him through pictorial designs by Dredge Masters to overhaul the Odaw River and Korle Lagoon into a modern beautiful asset which will attract tourists and business activities in the city of Accra.
Dredge Masters begun operations in June 2016, a year after the June 3 disaster at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle claiming several lives and property with a two-year contract awarded by the government under John Dramani Mahama for the desilting and dredging of the Odaw channel and restoration of the Korle Lagoon to avert the perennial flooding in Accra under the Accra Sanitary Sewer Storm Drainage Alleviation Project.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo renewed the contract for another two years beginning from February this year which scope of work included the redesign and construction of the KLERP interceptor and breakwater at the outfall.
The channel under the scope starts from the Odaw Onyasia confluence at Carprice in Accra, through Avenor, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Agbogbloshie, South Kaneshie drain and, the Upper and Lower Lagoon.
Operations Manager of Dredge Masters, Ing. Sena Adiepena said works under the initial contract was completed in March 2017 as designs on civil works are still ongoing.
He said since the renewal of the contract, over 1 million cubic meters of dredged materials were removed from the channel and lagoon.
Prior to the commencement of dredging operations, Ing. Adiepena recalled encroachers and squatters along the drains had to be removed with assistance from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Ghana Police Service.
He commended AMA for their support.
Adiepena said Dredge Masters Limited is working around the clock i.e. day and night to restore the drainage efficiency and holding capacity of the channel and lagoon to avert any flooding in this year’s rainy season.
