Japan backs Mahama’s Volivo Bridge dream under $10bn ‘Big Push’ plan – Nsemkeka
Japan has reaffirmed its commitment to financing the construction of the Volivo Bridge over the Volta Lake—one of the most critical components of Ghana’s Eastern Corridor road network.
The assurance was delivered to President John Dramani Mahama by Miyazaki Katsura, Senior Executive Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), during a meeting on Tuesday, June 3.
The proposed Volivo Bridge is a flagship project under President Mahama’s ambitious $10 billion “Big Push” infrastructure plan, which seeks to invest $2 billion annually over five years in roads, bridges, education, and healthcare.
“We are happy that the Volivo Bridge project is captured under the Big Push initiative,” Katsura told the President, adding that JICA remains committed to facilitating discussions with the Japanese government.
He also disclosed that a technical team would soon be deployed to Ghana to assess the additional funding needs for the project.
President Mahama originally secured Japan’s backing for the bridge during an earlier term in office while on an official visit to Tokyo.
He has since accepted an invitation to attend the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in August, where he plans to hold high-level engagements to finalise the project’s funding.