President John Dramani Mahama has announced a major wave of road projects across the Western Region under his government’s ambitious Big Push infrastructure agenda, pledging that the region will receive its fair share of investment to support economic growth, trade, and social development.
Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the 73.6-kilometer Cape Coast–Takoradi dual carriageway, President Mahama emphasized that the Western Region remains central to his government’s plans to modernize Ghana’s transport network.
He outlined several ongoing and upcoming road projects aimed at improving connectivity across the region’s major industrial, agricultural, and mining corridors.
“As the Minister said, the Western Region is receiving its fair share of attention for the roads. And I’ll give you some of the roads that we are working on in the Western Region, just for the record.
“The first one is what we’re going to cut sod for —the dualization of the Cape Coast–Takoradi road. Then we’re also working on the Takoradi–Agona Junction rehabilitation and dualization of the road. Then we also have the construction of the Enchi–Elubo road.”
President John Dramani Mahama
He added that other projects include the bitumen surfacing of the Asankragua–Sefwi Bekwai road, the Asankragua–Kojokrom road, and the Gravel Yard–Basikesi–Santasu road.
Additional works are underway for the reconstruction of the Atebabu–Senterso–Mumuni Junction road, as well as the rehabilitation of the Asikuma–Telekubukazo–Himben Junction and the Telekubukazo–Yenase roads.
“These are all roads that are captured in the first phase of the road rehabilitation program. And the total cost of these roads comes to almost 7 billion cedis. So I want to assure you that the Western Region will get its fair share of the investment that we’re doing in roads and in other infrastructure that we’ll build under the Big Push.”
President John Dramani Mahama
Addressing Ghana’s Infrastructure Deficit
President Mahama explained that the Big Push initiative is a deliberate and well-structured policy designed to address Ghana’s infrastructure deficit, as identified in a World Bank report which estimated that the country requires about $1.5 billion annually to close its infrastructure gap.
“And so we decided that we must, over a five-year period, catch up with that deficit and improve the infrastructure so that we can increase productivity and also use it to expand our economy. That is how the Big Push was born.”
President John Dramani Mahama
Under the plan, the government will invest $2 billion annually over five years—amounting to $10 billion—into infrastructure development across key sectors. These include roads, health, education, agriculture, sports, and the digital economy.
“We started the Big Push this year. The Minister for Finance allocated 13 billion cedis for the Big Push. And we realized that everywhere we had gone during the campaign, the major complaint from every region and every traditional authority was the poor nature of our roads.”
President John Dramani Mahama
The President expressed concern that many existing roads that were once in good condition had deteriorated due to years of neglect. “Existing roads that were fairly in good shape over the years had not been maintained—not even pothole patching—and so the roads had deteriorated beyond proper use,” he said. “It meant that we had to allocate a big portion of the budget for the Big Push to the road sector.”
President John Dramani Mahama explained that the renewed focus on road construction under the Big Push has already seen significant progress nationwide, citing several flagship projects that have commenced since the policy’s launch.
“That’s how we kick-started it with the first phase of the Accra–Aflao road dualization. We also began the Dawhenya–Afienya–Dodowa roads and cut the sod for the Ho–Aflao road. This Cape Coast–Takoradi dualization project marks the third round of sod-cutting, and it is a very critical one.”
President John Dramani Mahama
He described the Cape Coast–Takoradi road as a vital economic and social artery linking the Central and Western Regions, noting that it had long become unsafe and unfit for modern transport needs.
“This road has caused a lot of accidents. It has outlived its usefulness, and it is time for us to modernize it so that it will improve the productivity of both the Central and Western Regions”.
President John Dramani Mahama
The President added that the dualization will transform the corridor into a modern, high-capacity highway with interchanges to ensure traffic separation and minimize congestion. “There are going to be interchanges so that we create traffic separation, and the congestion that we see on this road will be a thing of the past”, he said.
Beyond roads, President Mahama reiterated that the Big Push initiative also covers major investments in other key infrastructure sectors to drive Ghana’s economic transformation and social inclusion. “The $10 billion investment covers roads, the health sector, the education sector, sports and recreation, agriculture, agri-tech, the digital space, and key sectors of the economy,” he said.
President Mahama underscored that infrastructure remains the backbone of sustainable development and national renewal. He concluded by reaffirming his administration’s commitment to equitable regional development, assuring the people of the Western Region that the ongoing projects would be delivered with speed and quality.
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