President John Dramani Mahama has announced that $2 billion has been secured to finance the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, assuring that lack of funding will not delay the project once construction begins.
According to the President, the funds, sourced from taxpayers, have been placed in a dedicated account at the Bank of Ghana to facilitate prompt payments to the contractor throughout the project.
He said the government would ensure that certificates submitted by the contractor are settled on time to prevent interruptions to construction.
“This is our own money. We have not gone to borrow money from anywhere. This money is the taxpayers’ money,” President Mahama said on Monday, September 14, 2026.
He was speaking at a ceremony to hand over 175.6 kilometres of cleared right-of-way for the proposed expressway.
President Mahama also directed the Minister of Roads and Highways to include the Ghana Armed Forces Engineers Regiment as a major subcontractor to the main contractor.
No Borrowing
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has separately assured that government will not borrow to finance the project, saying the full amount required will be available by December 31, 2026.
He said government had put measures in place to mobilise the needed resources domestically to ensure that the 198.7-kilometre expressway is constructed without financial constraints.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we will not borrow a pesewa for this construction,” Dr Ato Forson said at the handover ceremony.
He said the project would cut travel time and transport costs, improve road safety and set a new standard for infrastructure delivery.
The expressway is also expected to improve connectivity between Accra and Kumasi, ease pressure on the existing road network and provide modern infrastructure to accommodate growing traffic along the corridor.
Expressway to Operate as Business
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, Francis Ahlidza, has disclosed that the highway will be operated as a commercial asset to enable government to recover the taxpayers’ investment in the project.
He said government had established Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited as a special-purpose company responsible for the development, design, construction and maintenance of the expressway.
Speaking on Joy News’ The Pulse, Mr Ahlidza said the arrangement was intended to give the project the appropriate legal and commercial structure to ensure that the investment is recovered within the concession period.
He explained that the expressway would not be treated like an ordinary national road asset but would instead be operated as a business.
Mr Ahlidza said the company would also take responsibility for maintaining the expressway after construction.
Construction Targeted for 2027
He said the Ghana Armed Forces had completed the clearance and definition of the right-of-way for the proposed expressway.
According to him, the next major step is the procurement process, which has already commenced, with the designs for the project completed.
Construction companies from across the world with the requisite technical capacity will be invited to express interest, after which qualified firms will be shortlisted and invited to tender.
Mr Ahlidza said construction was expected to begin by January 2027, while government intended to cut the sod for the actual works before Christmas.
He added that additional facilities required to support motorists and normal travel along the expressway would also be constructed as part of the project.
