WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ELSE…ADJEI FOSU.

Ghanaians have been asked to change their attitude towards environmental pollution and degradation to safeguard the natural resources else the future generation or posterity would not forgive us.

Mr.Adjei-Fosu Kwaku, the Deputy Director of National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) gave the caution at a day’s Consultation Meeting on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on The Project on Corridor Development for West Africa Growth Ring Master Plan held Electoral Commission's conference room,Kumasi.

The meeting which was under the auspices of Ministry of Roads and Highways and National Development Planning Commission is sponsored by Japanese Government.

Mr.Adjei-Fosu Kwaku in a Presentation on the project overview, Ghana's Corridor Development Scenarios, said the overall goals for Sub-Regional Corridor Development is to updrade the size of sub-Regional economies by promoting sub-regional economic and  spatial integration, to deepen sub-regional space integration, to seek balanced social and economic development between inland northern countries/areas and coastal southern countries/areas within the Subregion.

The Deputy Director of NDPC said the Corridor Development is an integrated Development of Corridor Infrastructure and economic sectors along a transport corridor.

Explaining that,Freight and Passenger Transport Infrastructure will include; roads and Highways, railways ,water transport including Sea Transport and lake transport, Air Transport, cross-Boarder facilities as well as logistics facilities such as Truck Terminal and Dry ports.

On the Energy  Transport infrastructure, he mentioned power transmission lines.oil product pipelines ,Crdue oil pipelines,Natural Gas pipelines.

The information Transport infrastructure will also include optic fibre cables. And lastly ,Soft infrastructure involved custom clearance ,Immigration,Quarantine(CIQ),Custom Duties ,custom clearance fees,international payment system for unloaded goods at Sea Ports and Airports as well as Transport -related institutions (Truck Axixs Load Regulation,standards of corridor infrastructure).

Mr.Adjei-Fosu said the basic approaches to the project include, formulation of a strategic Master Plan for integrated Development of corridor infrastructure and economic sectors, formulation of a strategic Master plan in order to attract Private investment and promote public investment for integrated corridor development. Others include formulation of corridor development plans from region-wide and sector -crossing perspectives, formulation of long -term vision for sub-regional Development by considering super-long term vision. The rest are implementation of a compact Traffic survey as well as strategic environmental Assessment in cooperation and in parallel with plan formulation.

The consultative meeting was attended by  JICA study Team ,Akiko NAKASHIMA,Assembly members, Nananom,religious organizations,technocrats, the media etc.