Govt Assigns  Contractor To  Reconstruct Apiate  Deadly Explosion Road  ...Lands Deputy Minster Discloses

Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Honourable George Mireku Duker,  has disclosed that the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Ghana Highways Authority has put in place proactive measures to construct a portion of the road in Apiate community in the Huni Valley District of the Western Region which was highly destroyed following the road collision involving explosive-laden truck and motorcycle leaves at least 13 people dead and injures 59 others.

According to Mr. Duker who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa Nsuaem Constituency in the Western Region, the move was part of the proactive actions being taken by the government to put the accident portion of the road in Apiate to good shape for the motorists and commuters to use.

Mr. Duker disclosed this when he was speaking in an interview with UTV breakfast show morning #AdekyeNsroma" on Monday, January 24, 2022, monitored by Soireenews.com.

He pointed out that the government through the Ministry of Roads and Highways and Ghana Highways Authority has already assigned a contractor to reconstruct the portion of the road which was destroyed in Thursday's deadly truck blast.

He stated that the government has planned to hold stakeholders engagements with the chiefs to help get suitable places to rebuild houses for the people in Bogoso-Apiate who had been homeless after the tragedic blast.

Currently, the Deputy Minister pointed out that the mining expects from the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission, Chief Executive of the Huni Valley Municipal Assembly Dr. Isaac Dasmani, and his technical team including Coordinating Director of the Assembly, Mr. Emmanuel Gyan, and the people in Apiateman Divisional area are in the scene of the incident collecting the debris from the area.

He stated that they are doing so to prepare the place to pave way for the State Housing Company to start construction of the houses for the people in the area.

So far, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has confirmed that over 500 houses have been affected by Thursday’s explosion.

According to the Deputy Coordinator of NADMO, Sedzi Seji Amedonu, who confirmed this to journalists said some of the houses have been razed down completely by the explosion while others have developed cracks. It’s almost like a ghost town now, "he said.

According to him “We have a case on our hands now. It’s a black Thursday. So far 500 houses have been affected. Some have been razed down completely by the explosion while others have developed cracks. It’s almost like a ghost town now”.

He explained “Some of the houses were burnt while others have been covered by the debris so we’re still carrying out the search and rescue operation. Most of the cars that were around during the explosion also have their windscreens damaged”.

Meanwhile, aside from the explosion which has caused the death of 13 persons, the explosion has also injured over 179 people, with at least 45 in critical conditions at various health centers.

Due to that, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that the Akufo-Addo led government has initiated a process to build some facilities for persons who have been displaced in Thursday’s explosion.

The Vice-President described the incident as a sad day for the country, adding that the government is working tirelessly to ensure the victims receive the best medical care.

He expressed gratitude to all the agencies who are helping with the rescue efforts.

“I want to assure Nananom that His Excellency the President has given us directives, and I have already spoken to the state housing company and in consultation with the mining companies around here, we will quickly try to put in facilities that will help those who have been displaced.

“So that is going to be one of the priorities for all of us, so just to assure you that government is fully engaged in all of these processes and we are going to see to it that the people here are taken care of, we will learn lessons and those are going to be much later on,” D.r Bawumia said.

“But for now, we are very much concerned about how to complete this rescue effort, how to take care of the injured, families, and people who have survived. So we are going to work collaboratively to ensure all of these happen.”

Videos from the scene posted on social media on Thursday showed a large blast area in Apiate, near the city of Bogoso some 300km (180 miles) west of the capital, Accra, with dozens of buildings reduced to piles of wood, brick, and twisted metal.

The explosion occurred when a motorcycle went under a truck carrying explosives that were en route to the Chirano gold mine, run by Canada-based Kinross.