A bus terminal built for buses that ply the Tamale-Kumasi road has been abandoned and left to rot.
The bus terminal which was constructed at a cost of GH¢ 1.9 million has not been used ever since its completion.
The ultra-modern bus terminal was pioneered by the then former Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru.
The project was being undertaken by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) with funding from the World Bank under the Urban Development Grant.
The facility, which is located at Datoyili, a suburb of Tamale, was constructed to ease overcrowding at the Tamale bus station which currently accommodates vehicles that travel in and out of the Northern Region.
However, drivers and executives of the various bus stations plying the Tamale-Kumasi stretch have refused to use the terminal claiming the terminal was not originally constructed to accommodate them.
According to them, the station was an initiative by the erstwhile Mahama administration which was supposed to be used as a point of offloading for cargo cars and trailers.
Some of the bus drivers at the Tamale bus station who spoke to DAILY GUIDE indicated that moving the station to the new one at Datoyili would pose great inconvenience to their work.
They said passengers would also find it difficult to travel some long miles to board buses to their various destinations.
Chairman of the Kumasi bus station in Tamale, Chairman Yusif, said they would resist any attempt to move them from their current location to the GH¢ 1.9m facility at Datoyili, asserting that it would affect their business and their passengers.
According to him, the nature of the station and its location could encourage robbery as it’s on the outskirts of the town where there is no police station.
Chairman Yusif added that the lack of a fire station at the new station is part of the reasons for their refusal to move there.
A visit by DAILY GUIDE to the terminal revealed that the station had been taken over by weeds, animals and some unscrupulous persons, whiles some portions of the building had also deteriorated.
<<Print>>