The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has stated that the construction of model markets under the government’s flagship 24-Hour Economy policy will take 18 months.
Speaking to the media during an orientation program in Accra on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the minister said sod-cutting for the commencement of construction, which is expected to be in December, will be conducted simultaneously across all 261 districts in the country to ensure timely completion.
“When the president is cutting sod in Greater Accra, there must be a sod-cutting in all the 16 regional capitals, then in all districts, to make sure the starting point is the same, the completion is the same. And this one, we don’t want to go and transfer it, carry forward for a future government to come and say, ‘I’m doing auditing procurement. We’re not done this, we’re not’—they must be completed, and they will be completed,” he stated.
He outlined the government’s decision to set up an escrow account with an allocation of 25% from the District Assemblies Common Fund to ensure adequate and timely financing for the construction.
“We planned ahead. That is why, as the minister responsible for the guidelines for the utilisation of the District Assemblies Common Fund, we give 25% of this fund for this exercise. So 25% of the first quarter, we escrow, put it in an escrow account. 25% of the second quarter was also put in an escrow account. Next week, the finance minister is releasing the third quarter; 25% of that will be added. So by mid-December, before we do the sod-cutting, four quarters will have been escrowed, put into an escrow account. Then you add 18 months to the four additions. Four quarters means one year. You add this one quarter, you add 18 months’ money into this. So by the time we get to the 18 months, the market, the funding, everything is ready and we are able to complete it,” he explained.
The minister added that the government will be working with various banks to ensure prompt payments to contractors for the effective completion of the markets.
“We don’t want any of them to be an abandoned project,” he emphasised.
The model markets under the 24-Hour Economy policy, according to the government, are aimed at transforming local economies, creating jobs, and ending trading on the streets of Ghana by providing modern market spaces where trading activities can be carried out during the day and at night.