Ghana Secures US$3 Billion for Accra-Kumasi Expressway, Funds Already in Central Bank Account

The government has secured approximately US$3 billion to finance the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, with the entire sum already deposited in a dedicated project account at the Bank of Ghana, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced.

Presenting the 2027 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Dr. Forson disclosed that as of November 11, the account held US$2.2 billion and GH¢9 billion, together equivalent to about US$3 billion .

"The money is in the safe custody of the Bank of Ghana," Dr. Forson said. "Before actual construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway begins, the money is ready. We promised to secure the financing. We have done so. Promise made, promise fulfilled" .

Financed Without Borrowing

The funds were accumulated through petroleum revenues and mineral royalties, alongside savings from prudent economic management, rather than external borrowing . The government has ring-fenced the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) from petroleum revenues, together with mineral royalties, solely for the expressway project—a decision the Ministry of Finance said followed the Public Interest and Accountability Committee's recommendation to concentrate petroleum revenues on major infrastructure rather than spreading them thinly across numerous projects .

Dr. Forson also announced plans for a new Natural Resource Revenue Management Act to replace the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, extending the framework beyond oil to cover gold, lithium, bauxite, and other extractive resources. "The same revenue streams that were for over a decade spread thinly and spent on wasteful expenditures... will now finance two monumental national investments in four years: the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and the Western Corridor Railway Line," he said .

Cost Reduced by Over US$1 Billion

The engineer's construction estimate for the 198.7-kilometre, six-lane expressway now stands at US$2.98 billion, more than US$1 billion below an initial projection of about US$4 billion. The revised estimate includes contingencies, supervision, land acquisition, and compensation, with compensation costs alone at US$200 million .

Dr. Forson said the savings could potentially finance the proposed Accra Orbital Expressway, for which feasibility studies and engineering designs are underway .

Tendering Underway

The government has issued tenders through an international competitive tendering process, expected to conclude by the end of 2026. Final contract prices will be determined through the competition, with awards subject to commitment control approval and value-for-money assessments .

Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, a special purpose vehicle under the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, is managing the procurement. The company's Managing Director, Engineer Francis Ahlidza, has said physical construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with completion targeted for December 2028 .

A Transformative Corridor

The expressway will connect more than 10 million people across the Greater Accra, Eastern, and Ashanti Regions, reducing the distance between Accra and Kumasi from about 250 kilometres to 198.7 kilometres and cutting travel time to roughly two hours . It will feature eight interchanges, four rest stops, 11 vehicle overpasses, and 55 mainline bridges .

The project forms part of the government's Big Push infrastructure programme, which officials say will create more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction .

As Parliament begins deliberations on the budget, the government's challenge will be translating the secured funds into delivered asphalt—and ensuring that the procurement process, still underway, delivers a contractor capable of building Ghana's first true expressway on time and on budget.