Ghana’s long-awaited digital road tolling system is nearing full completion, with the Ministry of Roads and Highways projecting that nationwide deployment will begin by early 2026.
Roads and Highways Minister, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza, has confirmed that the selection of an operator for the new tolling platform has entered its concluding stage after months of technical evaluations and stakeholder engagements.
Speaking on the progress of the project, the Minister expressed confidence that the country is on the verge of securing what he describes as the most advanced and efficient tolling arrangement on the continent.
“The process to select the operator is in the final leg. It took months, but we have an opportunity to select an operator that ticks all the boxes and make sure we deploy, in our view, the best and most efficient tolling system in Africa”.
Roads and Highways Minister, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
Hon. Agbodza noted that the chosen operator is expected to begin rollout before the end of this year, or at the latest, the first quarter of 2026. This rollout will introduce a fully IT-driven toll collection platform aimed at modernizing road revenue administration, enhancing transparency, and eliminating the persistent challenges associated with Ghana’s previous tolling model.
According to the Minister, the upcoming system will be completely digital, ensuring that toll collection becomes seamless, secure, and immune to the manual inefficiencies that plagued the old toll booth regime.
“The operator will start rolling out on our road, which will create an IT platform-based tolling system, making the toll collection efficient, the rates reasonable, and ensuring that the accruals are safe and applied to the intended purposes”.
Roads and Highways Minister, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
Easing Public Frustration
Hon. Agbodza highlighted long-standing public frustrations with past tolling practices—particularly instances where motorists paid but were told tickets had run out, or where accountability gaps cast doubt over the final use of toll revenue. He stressed that such concerns would have no place in the new system.
“Unlike the past, when people complained, you pay, they will say there’s no ticket, and there will be no obstruction in the public right of way in terms of toll booths and other things. We are in the first century; we should have better ways of making people pay.”
Roads and Highways Minister, Hon. Governs Kwame Agbodza
The Minister expressed satisfaction with the range of technology firms and financial institutions that have proposed solutions, saying many of these innovations promise to “enrich the deployment of the tolling system” and ultimately make Ghanaians “proud of what we have.”
The digital toll initiative forms part of a broader government commitment to rebuild Ghana’s road infrastructure financing model using modern technology and accountability frameworks.
In February 2025, the Ministry of Roads and Highways officially announced the decision to reintroduce road and bridge tolls across the country after their suspension in November 2021. The reinstatement was framed as a critical revenue-generation strategy for the maintenance and expansion of the national road network.
Unlike the previous tolling approach—criticised for inefficiency, congestion, and leakages—the new model was designed from the outset to be technologically driven. The Ministry said the objective was to guarantee efficiency, eliminate loopholes, and provide a transparent system where revenue flows can be traced and verified.
The vision for the system became clearer in May 2025 when President John Dramani Mahama, speaking on the sidelines of the 9th Ghana CEO Summit, announced a sweeping reform to Ghana’s road toll framework.
He revealed that the future of tolling in the country would be anchored in biometric identity and digital payments, marking a decisive break from the traditional booth-and-cash architecture.
In his remarks, President Mahama explained that tolling would be fully automated and integrated into the Ghana Card system, which has become central to national identification and public service delivery.
Digital Billing
Vehicle owners would be billed directly through mobile money or bank accounts, using real-time vehicle recognition technology that matches vehicles to their registered owners. This approach, he noted, would eliminate queues, reduce human interference, and ensure that every cedi collected reaches the state.
The President described the reform as both “visionary and practical,” emphasizing that Ghana’s existing digital ecosystem—particularly its biometric identity infrastructure, mobile money penetration, and interoperability systems—makes the transition not just feasible but inevitable.
The synergy between the Ministry’s implementation plan and the President’s policy direction has generated significant anticipation, as many view the digital tolling reform as a milestone in Ghana’s digital transformation agenda.
If executed as planned, the system is expected to reshape public perceptions of road tolling by eliminating waste, boosting revenue mobilization, and providing a modern user experience that aligns with global best practices.
As Ghana edges closer to selecting the operator and moving into the deployment phase, expectations continue to rise. The coming months will be critical in determining whether the country can deliver a tolling system that meets its promise of transparency, efficiency, and technological leadership across Africa.
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