KWASO, Ghana, 14th September: President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that the government has set aside $2 billion to finance the construction of the 198.7-kilometre Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
According to President Mahama, the money is already available in a special account at the Bank of Ghana, with the full amount expected to be in place by the end of 2026.
He made the disclosure at Kwaso in the Ashanti Region during a ceremony marking the completion of the Ghana Armed Forces’ clearance of 175.6 kilometres of the project’s right-of-way.
President Mahama stressed that the financing arrangement would ensure that funding does not become a constraint once construction begins.
He added that certificates submitted by the contractor would be paid promptly to prevent delays associated with payment challenges.
The President also emphasised that the financing would come from Ghana’s own resources rather than external borrowing.
“And let me also announce that this is our own money. We have not gone to borrow money from anywhere. This money is the money of the taxpayers of Ghana,” President Mahama said.
He explained that $2 billion had already been secured, with the Finance Minister assuring that the full financing requirement would be available before the end of the year.
The President said the government had already advertised an expression of interest for companies seeking to undertake the construction.
He explained that interested companies had been given four weeks to submit their expressions of interest, after which the government would undertake pre-qualification before selecting a contractor through an expedited process.
President Mahama expressed the expectation that construction would begin before the end of 2026.
“We will return here before the end of the year and come and cut the sword for work on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway to start,” he said.
The project is expected to provide a six-lane expressway measuring 198.7 kilometres between Accra and Kumasi.
President Mahama said the new alignment would significantly shorten the distance between Ghana’s two largest cities, compared with the existing 270-kilometre Accra-Kumasi highway.
The completed expressway is expected to have eight interchanges, two toll interchanges, four rest stops, CCTV surveillance and facilities for rapid removal of broken-down vehicles.
The President said the recommended speed on the expressway would be 120 kilometres per hour, potentially reducing the journey between Accra and Kumasi to about two hours for motorists travelling at an average speed of 100 kilometres per hour.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
