Parliament on Wednesday , December 17, 2025, approved a concession agreement for the construction of the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, with the Ministry of Roads and Highways as the Contracting Authority and Accra–Kumasi Expressway Limited as the concessionaire.
The approval follows concerns raised about the poor condition of the existing Accra–Kumasi highway, plagued by potholes, uneven surfaces, and inadequate lighting.
Presenting the agreement, Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Agbodza, assured lawmakers that the new expressway will serve as an alternative route and not a replacement for the current highway.
He cited ECOWAS and AU protocols, which allow tolling on expressways to recover costs, provided a free alternative route is maintained.
“The ECOWAS and the AU protocol say that when you build an expressway, you are allowed to charge a certain level of toll to recover the cost. But you must have an alternative that if somebody wants to go to Kumasi in six hours, he will also have the alternative,” Mr Agbodza said.
He emphasised the importance of the corridor, stating: “There’s no road in Ghana that is more important than the road between Accra and Kumasi. And indeed we are doing something that we’ll be proud of maybe in five years.”
The project entails building a new six-lane dual carriageway aimed at improving road safety, cutting travel time significantly, and providing a more efficient travel option between the two cities.
During debates on the Road and Transport Committee’s report, Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah called on the government to ensure the existing highway is not neglected as the expressway project advances.
He described the funding framework as Government of Ghana-supported through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), noting it allows for commercial recovery of investments.
“This project is GoG funded through GIIF and I think it’s a beautiful framework so that the money is made available to GIIF subcontracts and GIIF can take the money back as a commercial project. But it is GoG still and the old Accra Kumasi highway, if I’m correct is also GoG,” he said.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah highlighted the need to complete pending works on the current road, including lighting.
“If they are both going to draw from the same source, especially now that the revenues haven’t hit the projections, let’s be careful so that we don’t have both projects,” he cautioned.
Government officials maintain that the expressway will modernise Ghana’s key transport corridor, offering travellers a safer, faster, and more reliable alternative between Accra and Kumasi.