Two trainees from Ghana were invited to Japan under the UNIDO ITPO Tokyo’s “Industrial Vocational Training Programme in Africa and Asia through Technology Transfer from Japan” and completed the training in October 2024 to learn Environmentally friendly pavement technology for improve infrastructures with inorganic soil hardening agent ‘STEIN’. SPEC Co., Ltd collaborated on this project to provide training in pavement technology with inorganic soil hardening agent STEIN.
In Ghana, roads account for 95% of logistics, however even on major roads, the pavement rate is below 50%. In rural areas, the lack of road maintenance can cause shipment delays and disruptions, resulting in losses for farmers. Transporting goods on poorly maintained roads can damage crops due to shaking during transit, thus lowering their market value. Improving roads for shipments could effectively reduce food loss and increase local income. The purpose of this programme is to contribute to solving these challenges by soil gardening agent ‘STEIN’ which is not necessary for soil removal and disposal, potentially reducing construction time with low cost.
About the Training Programme
The trainees from Ghana are Mr. John Bentil and Mr. Matthew Kwaw Somiah, professors from Civil Engineer department, Takoradi Technical Universtity in Takoradi, Western region, Ghana.
The training programme took place over 9 days from 21st October 2024 to 29th October 2024.
The programme included training for the following technologies and observational tours.
- Designing of STEIN
- Construction procedures and manuals for roads and irrigation
- Particle density measurement and moisture content measurement
- Soil test
- Data analysis for Strength test
- Inspection, strength Test and Evaluation manuals
- Maintenance management
On 31st October, the closing ceremony was held with the participation of H.E. Mrs. Genevieve Edna Apaloo and Mr. Isaac Kofi Yankson, Minister Counsellor of Trade and Investment from Ghana Embassy Japan, Mr. Gaku Okamoto, from Office for Technical Cooperation and Talent Partnership Trade Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI), Mr. Yuichi Kubo, President and Ms. Shiyo Kamibayashi, General Manager from SPEC Co., Ltd. and Ms. Fumio Adachi, Head and Mr. Ferda Gelegen, Deputy Head from UNIDO ITPO Tokyo.
As the next phase of the programme, a training to disseminate the technology and know-how the trainees acquired in Japan will be held in Ghana (Phase 2), February to March 2025 onwards. Further information will be updated on the project page.
