PLAN TO DEVELOP LORRY PARKS IN TWIN-CITY (PAGE 30)

DRIVERS in Takoradi find it very difficult to use most of the lorry terminals in the central business district (CBD), because the terminals are either not spacious enough or are not well developed to accommodate all their vehicles.
Besides, the terminals are in a very deplorable state to the extent that when it rains, they become extremely muddy, and the drivers find it very difficult to operate in them.
As a result, some taxi drivers also park haphazardly on the shoulders of the narrow streets which virtually block the streets, denying other road users right of way.
The most affected terminals are the Sekondi and Effia Kuma Newsite Taxi ranks, near the Zenith Hotel, the Harbour Taxi Station and the ‘Trotro’ station behind the former Glamour Departmental Stores, all in the CBD in Takoradi.
It is against this backdrop that the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has come out with a comprehensive programme for the re-development of all bus/lorry terminals within the CBD in Takoradi.
The STMA, in partnership with the Tra-hic Company Limited, a private company in Takoradi, has started work on the bus/lorry terminal behind the former Glamour Departmental Stores at the cost of GH¢657,712.68.
The project, which is being financed by the Tra-hic Company, is to be completed within 18 months, comprising the construction of 20 locked-up stores, a two-storey office building, a canteen and the main terminal.
The project is to be based on build, operate and transfer (BOT) system. That means, after constructing the terminal, the private company will operate the terminal for 25 years and hand it over to the STMA.
However, the contract for the operation of the terminal by the private company is renewable.
The Public Relations Officer of STMA, Mr John Laste, told the Daily Graphic that it was part of the assembly’s programme to improve and expand the bus/lorry terminals in the CBD in the metropolis.
This, he said, was because most bus/lorry terminals in the city were in a very bad state.
Mr Laste said a space behind the Supper Star Hotel near the Takoradi Central Market was to be developed into a modern car park, while the Sekondi and Effia Kuma Newsite Taxi Rank, near the Zenith Hotel, would be relocated.