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The World Bank has rated progress on the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the country as �moderately unsatisfactory�. The BRT is being implemented under the Urban Transport Project (UTP) to deliver fast, affordable transportation for commuters in Accra and Kumasi. The project is also expected to provide regulatory and institutional reforms in urban transportation in the two cities. According to the latest Implementation Status Report released by the World Bank on its website, progress towards the achievement of the project development objective (PDO) and the overall implementation progress were �moderately unsatisfactory�. The report also indicated that the World Bank had so far disbursed US$25.9 million, as against its portfolio of $45 million, for the project. The amount disbursed so far represents 57 per cent of the international development assistance (IDA) funding available for the execution of the project. The UTP is being jointly funded by the World Bank, the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the Government of Ghana and Global Environment Facility Trust Fund at a cost of $95 million. The BRT is being executed by the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, with the Department of Urban Roads (DUR) as the implementing agency. The Centre for Urban Transportation under the Ministry of Local Government was established to implement the regulatory and institutional aspect of the project. The project, which started in 2007, was originally scheduled for completion in December this year, which is only three months away. To date, the agencies have been able to utilise only 38.3 per cent of the $95 million available for the project. Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Director of Urban Roads, Dr Daniel Darku, stated that there had been several challenges in the implementation of the project. Between 2008 and 2010, there was stiff resistance to the transport regulatory process by transport operators, which Dr Darku described as a major setback. �The operators perceived the passage of the bye-laws and procedures by the MMDAs to regulate public transport as challenging their livelihoods. That led to the setting up of a committee which took almost nine months to resolve the issue,� he said. Dr Darku said a recent review by the World Bank�s mission to Ghana identified inadequate funding for the implementation of other components of the project and described progress being made on the acquisition of buses, for instance, as insufficient. Aside of those challenges, he said, the creation of new municipalities during the implementation period necessitated the establishment of new Urban Transport Passenger Units (UTPUs). While work is substantially completed on Lot One, which is the construction of a flyover on the railway line on the Graphic Road, that of Lot Two, which involves the construction of bus lanes from the Graphic Road to the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle through to the First Light, and Lot Three, involving the construction of depots, terminals and bus stops, were yet to begin. �The commencement of Lots Two and Three has been put on hold to allow for the creation of a BRT management company which will pave way for the organisation of the operators into an entity for the bus operations and management of other facilities to be provided under the project,� Dr Darku said. �That component of the project has experienced delays due to lack of understanding of the concept by a private consultant hired to provide services for regulatory and operational manuals of the management company � the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executives (GAPTE),� he added. The implementers agreed with the bank, in June this year, to establish a GAPTE Unit within the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to commence the activities of GAPTE and ensure the formation of GAPTE as a condition for the extension of the project and implementation of the Lots One and Two of the infrastructural works. A Transport Specialist at the World Bank, Ghana, Mr John Richardson, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, indicated that the establishment of the pre-GAPTE unit would trigger argument for an extension of the project. Officials of the DUR, however, explained that although the project had delayed, some achievements had been made. According to Dr Darku, the Pre-GAPTE Unit had been established and the government had officially requested an extension of the project completion date to December 2014. The BRT project stretches from Kasoa in the Central Region, through Mallam Junction, Kaneshie, the Graphic Road to the CBD in Accra. Rapid population growth and the increasing number of vehicles in Accra have made the implementation of the BRT system crucial to easing the traffic in Accra. Statistics at the DUR indicate that approximately 10,000 vehicles enter the central area of Accra and the Ring Road during the morning peak hours and on a typical weekday, 270,000 vehicle trips are made into or out of the CBD.