Lifeline for Ellembelle communities as new steel bridge over river opens

An indigenous Ghanaian company, Sri Emas which provides integrated offshore solutions for the upstream oil and gas industry has handed over a steel bridge constructed over River Nhwine on the Adubrim-Ngabawei feeder road in the northern part of the Ellembelle District, Western Region.

The company said it was moved to support the construction of the bridge by the predicament of the beneficiary communities especially during the rains.

Sri Emas partnered with the Ellembelle District Assembly to carry out the project as part of its social investments plans.

Head of Local Content and Community Relations of Sri Emas, Ms. Lydia Afi Alomatu, said after the assessment of the project, the company decided to contribute one million cedis of the required ¢1.9 million.

She said crossing the Adubrim river was a highly risky affair especially during the rainy season as market women and members of the communities did so via bamboo rafts, resulting sometimes in deaths. She was happy the communities appreciate the new intervention.

“The community members especially cocoa farmers demonstrated their commitment by their cooperation with the contractor as they sacrificed parts of their farm to be used in constructing this road at both ends of the bridge,” she said.

Crossing the river with a raft

 

Ms. Alomatu said the completion of the sturdy steel and concrete bridge now unites the towns and villages and allows easy passage of pedestrians, livestock and vehicles.

“We are happy members of both communities will now have easy access to markets and schools and will bring about better trading opportunities and literally create a true bridge between this community and other villages.

“We hope that lives of residents of Adubrim and surrounding communities will now be transformed by this new bridge that straddles the village divided by a river,” she said, explaining also that adult residents are not the only beneficiaries of the new bridge. “It is our hope that children can now attend school since the only village school is located on the other side.”

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Mr. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Member of Parliament for Ellembelle who in consultation with the district assembly solicited support for the construction of the bridge until the gesture by Sri Emas, said it was very sad the struggle cocoa and other farmers have to go through to access markets.

At a brief ceremony to hand over the newly constructed steel bridge

 

It is important to note that these communities produce the chunk of the cocoa in the district, however, they have to make a choice between taking a long journey toward the northern part of the region to access license buyers or risk crossing and losing part or all of the produce, he said.

The Ellembelle District Assembly, he said, was also losing a lot of revenue owing to the fact that the needed revenue through economic activities ended up in adjoining districts.

Our mothers, aged and other sick people cannot cross when the river swells. Therefore handing over the bridge to the community at the time when rains are about to set in was a delightful moment for me and my people, he said.

An indigenous Ghanaian company, Sri Emas which provides integrated offshore solutions for the upstream oil and gas industry has handed over a steel bridge constructed over River Nhwine on the Adubrim-Ngabawei feeder road in the northern part of the Ellembelle District, Western Region.

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