The Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza, has described the forthcoming Accra–Kumasi Expressway as the biggest single road infrastructure investment on the African continent, signalling a transformative shift in Ghana’s transport, industrial, and economic landscape.
Speaking in an in-depth media engagement following the announcement of the project in the 2026 Budget by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Hon. Agbodza said the scale and strategic value of the expressway elevate it to a continental landmark.
“If I consider the scope of the Big Push, in the 2026 Budget, the Finance Minister announced the Adawso–Ekye Amanfrom Bridge and then the Accra–Kumasi Expressway.
“Arguably, this will probably be the biggest ever road infrastructure investment on the continent of Africa at a particular time. It is arguably the biggest. Very comprehensive and would address the most significant road travel bottlenecks across the country.”
Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
The expressway, which forms the flagship component of President John Dramani Mahama’s Big Push Infrastructure Agenda, will span 198.7 kilometres, linking Accra to Kumasi through a newly aligned southeast-to-northwest route.
It includes 23 kilometres of urban connector roads in both cities, designed as four-lane corridors with 60 km/h speed limits. The main stretch, a 175-kilometre six-lane express highway, is engineered for speeds up to 120 km/h.
Reducing Travel Cost
Once completed, officials say it will significantly cut journey times, reduce accidents, and alter the geography of commerce between Ghana’s two most important cities. Hon. Agbodza said the expressway responds to one of Ghana’s most urgent transport challenges: the extraordinary traffic volumes between Accra and Kumasi.
“The traffic volumes in our country say that the biggest traffic volume is from Accra to Kumasi. Of course, Kumasi is the second most important city in our country, and it’s within the central corridor”.
Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
He added that the new alignment would reduce the current 250-kilometre journey to less than 200 kilometres, improving travel efficiency by at least 40 percent. “That is productivity. That is new jobs being created,” he stressed.
The Roads Minister recalled that Ghana has not embarked on such an ambitious road project since the era of President Kwame Nkrumah. “Let’s cast our minds back—President Nkrumah did 19 kilometres of the Accra–Tema Motorway, and that has remained the most significant or iconic road in our country,” he said.
Efforts by previous administrations to expand or rehabilitate the motorway, he argued, lacked clearly defined and sustained financing. He said President Mahama had now directed that “every step” be taken to support ongoing works and ensure the transformative corridor is fully realised.
Stimulating Widespread Industrial Development
Beyond travel efficiency, the project is designed to stimulate widespread industrial development. Hon. Agbodza explained that Ghana’s economic geography has long been constrained by poor road connectivity beyond the port areas, forcing investors to concentrate heavily in Tema.
“Everybody who comes to Ghana wants to set up an industry in Tema simply because they want to be closer to the port and because the network beyond that is bad”.
Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
With the expressway and the accompanying Central Corridor Railway proposals, he said Ghana could finally trigger large-scale industrial relocation. “It means that we can actually encourage industry to relocate along this free corridor from Accra to Kumasi… Where land is less expensive, you can start to have a growth pool within the central corridor,” he said, adding that such dispersal would reshape job creation and regional development for decades.
The project’s route—announced by Dr. Ato Forson—passes through Adeiso, Asamankese, Ofoase, Akim Oda, and Bosomtwe before entering Kumasi. The choice of this path, officials say, is intentional: it brings infrastructure to areas previously bypassed by major highways, linking communities to markets and services while creating new logistics and agro-industrial zones.
Allotment of Expressway Construction
Responding to questions on project implementation, Hon. Agbodza dismissed the idea that a single contractor could handle a project of this scale. “You’ll be surprised to know that even under the Big Push, the ones that are on site, we split the project into lots simply because, naturally, contractors would love to have a road,” he said.
“But realistically, the level of mobilization you need to do to build this road is beyond what one contractor can do,” he said. He explained that even under current programmes, projects are packaged in 25- to 30-kilometre lots to enable multiple contractors to work simultaneously, ensuring delivery within about two years.
“So no, there’s not going to be one contractor doing Accra to Kumasi for six lanes and interchanges and other things. That would be too much for any contractor in the world to do”.
Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
He added that Ghana had a wide pool of capable contractors, and the government was intentionally creating opportunities for many firms to participate. The Accra–Kumasi Expressway has been widely praised as the most consequential infrastructure undertaking in Ghana’s modern history.
Government officials view it not merely as a road project but as a blueprint for a new national economic spine—one that links transport, trade, rail, logistics, and industrialisation into a unified development corridor.
Currently at the studies and detailed design stage, the project is expected to break ground shortly after procurement activities conclude. The Mahama administration has said it is committed to ensuring sustainable financing, transparent contracting, and timely completion.
Hon. Agbodza summed it up: the expressway is nothing less than a national turning point. “The Accra–Kumasi Expressway is a significant part of the Big Push project. We are at the moment in the study and design stage, and that will become a live project. It will be the new game changer.”
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