When Ghana Is Engineered: The Pokuase Interchange Story

“ All we know about the new economic world tells us that nations which train engineers will prevail over those which train lawyers. No nation has ever sued its way to greatness. ”- Richard D. Lamm.

The Pokuase Interchange is Ghana’s first four-tier interchange and the first of its kind in West Africa. It shattered the long-standing myth that public infrastructure projects in Ghana must be delayed, overrun, or mismanaged with no end in sight.

The interchange’s cost is estimated at $94.8 million.  The proposed three-tier interchange was modified to a four-tier with over 500 columns with no additional cost to the government. Through value engineering the Chinese Contractor and Ghanaian Consulting Engineers saved $10 million in costs. Completed on time and within budget, Pokuase is a rare example of what happens when Ghana is engineered – when projects are planned with vision, executed with engineering discipline, and driven by the public good

The success of Pokuase Interchange reflects what’s possible when engineers are allowed to do their work, when funds are protected from misuse, and when leadership insists on accountability.
Ghana is not short on brains, especially engineering brains. Our challenge has always been systems and the will to do things right. A former President of the Ghana Institution of Engineering and Chairman of the Engineering Council, Ing Dr. Kwame Boakye says that, Ghanaians are good at individual excellence but are missing on collective excellence. Pokuase tells us that with the right mindset, Ghanaian collective excellence can match or surpass global standards.

The lesson we learn here is simple: Pokuase should not be the exception. It should be the template. If we got it right at Pokuase, we can get it right in our schools, hospitals, markets, road building, district assemblies, factories and institutions.

When Ghana is engineered, people move forward literally and figuratively.
When Ghana is engineered, systems work, people thrive and hope is restored.
When Ghana is engineered, excuses disappear and only the results will emerge or matter.
Let’s build on the Pokuase story.