Special Report By Alex Ababio
Ghana is preparing to embark on one of the most ambitious road infrastructure projects in its history — the construction of a new 198.7-kilometre, six-lane Accra–Kumasi Expressway, a fully redesigned high-speed corridor that will not follow the existing N6 alignment. The project, formally captured in the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented to Parliament on 13 November 2026, signals a major shift in national infrastructure planning and is expected to redefine mobility, trade, and regional integration.
Unlike earlier proposals that sought to upgrade the current Accra–Nsawam–Koforidua–Kumasi road, this new project is a completely fresh alignment, engineered to meet the technical definition of a true expressway: limited access, grade-separated junctions, higher speed allowances, controlled entry points, and enhanced safety systems.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, while presenting the project in Parliament, described it as “a historic undertaking that will transform travel, modernise mobility, and support economic expansion from the coast to the forest belt.”
A Flagship of Mahama’s Big Push Programme
The expressway forms the backbone of President John Dramani Mahama’s Big Push Infrastructure Agenda, a GH¢30 billion initiative aimed at accelerating national development through large-scale strategic projects. The government has set an ambitious timeline, targeting completion within three years, with commissioning scheduled before President Mahama completes his term on January 6, 2029.
Senior government officials have hailed the expressway as a generational investment. A senior advisor at the Ministry of Roads and Highways, speaking to Ghanaian Watch, noted:
“This will be Ghana’s first purpose-built expressway. Not a patchwork upgrade. Not another widening project. A completely new high-speed system designed from the ground up.”
The Route: Where the New Expressway Will Pass
The proposed expressway will run southeast to northwest, cutting across three major regions: Greater Accra, Eastern, and Ashanti. Based on budget documentation and technical routing assessments available to Ghanaian Watch, the highway will pass through:
Accra Metropolitan Hub (entry point)
Adeiso (Upper West Akim)
Asamankese
Akyem Oda enclave
Ofoase
Kwaso
Lake Bosomtwe area
Kumasi (entry from Lake Road/Bosomtwe)
This alignment creates an entirely new transport spine, linking multiple agricultural, industrial, and commercial zones that currently lack high-capacity mobility corridors.
According to project engineers who reviewed the route mapping, “the aim was to avoid the congested N6 urban ribbons and to develop a fast, clean alignment that supports uninterrupted travel.”
Technical Features: Ghana’s First High-Speed Corridor
Six Lanes of High-Speed Mobility
The main expressway segment — approximately 175 kilometres — will be built as a six-lane highway (three lanes per direction) engineered for travel speeds of up to 120 km/h.
Urban Connectors
Additional 23 kilometres of four-lane urban connecting roads will be constructed within Accra and Kumasi, designed for speeds of 60 km/h.
Interchanges
A total of eight major interchanges will be constructed at:
1. Accra Metropolitan Hub
2. Adeiso
3. Asamankese
4. Akyem Oda
5. Ofoase
6. Lake Bosomtwe
7. Kumasi Urban Gate
8. A second Kumasi feeder interchange (urban connector)
These junctions will remove bottlenecks that currently plague the existing Accra–Kumasi corridor, where mixed traffic and unsignalized intersections slow movement and contribute to accidents.
Bridges and River Crossings
The highway will include six major bridges spanning key rivers, including the Birim and Pra. Both basins are environmentally sensitive corridors; engineers say special environmental protection measures will be implemented.
A hydrology consultant told Ghanaian Watch:
“The Birim and Pra rivers demand careful engineering. Their flood behaviour has changed in the past decade due to mining activities, so the bridges must account for those risks.”
Why Ghana Needs This Expressway:
Traffic Explosion on the Existing N6
Traffic counts conducted between 2022 and 2024 indicate that the current Accra–Kumasi road carries over 26,000 vehicles per day in peak sections, exceeding its designed capacity of 14,000 vehicles per day.
A 2024 urban mobility report by the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) found that:
Travel time between Accra and Kumasi ranges from 4.5 to 7.5 hours depending on congestion.
Over 60% of heavy trucks serving northern and middle-belt markets use this corridor.
Road crashes on the N6 increased by 18% between 2018 and 2023, partly due to mixed-speed traffic patterns.
The new expressway is expected to reduce travel time to 2.5 hours, improve logistics efficiency, and significantly cut accident rates.
Economic Implications
The Accra–Kumasi corridor contributes nearly 40% of Ghana’s GDP, according to 2025 data from the Ghana Statistical Service. The expressway is therefore seen as a crucial catalyst for unlocking industrial growth, trade, and regional integration under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Economist Dr. Kwabena Nyarko, an infrastructure analyst at Kumasi Technical University, argues that:
“If Ghana wants to industrialise, it must first fix its logistics backbone. This expressway is more than a road — it is an economic artery.”
Financing: Domestic Sources to Drive Construction
The Finance Minister emphasised that the project is intended to be financed locally.
“We are looking for domestic financing. You know I have very little appetite for foreign loans,”
Dr. Ato Forson stated during a radio interview with Citi FM.
He added that although the engineer’s estimate has been prepared, the exact budget figure will not be published because the project is heading into open competitive tendering.
The expressway falls within the wider GH¢30 billion Big Push allocation, which includes roads, rail, hospitals, and strategic industrial infrastructure.
A senior official at the Ministry of Finance clarified to Ghanaian Watch that the domestic financing strategy aims to:
Reduce dependence on external borrowing
Encourage participation from local pension funds
Boost domestic capital markets
Retain project revenue streams within the country
Expert Opinions: A National Game Changer
Several transport and city planning experts believe the project is long overdue.
Road Engineering Perspective
Ing. Sarah Owusu, a civil engineer with 22 years of highway design experience, said:
“Ghana is finally moving into the era of controlled-access expressways. This will set a new template for all future inter-city highways.”
Urban Development View
Urban planner Dr. Theophilus Addai believes the project will shift development patterns:
“New towns will emerge along the corridor. Industrial parks, agro-processing centres, and logistics hubs will follow the expressway. It will reshape the geography of opportunities.”
Environmental and Social Considerations
The new alignment passes through forest zones, river basins, farmlands, and peri-urban communities. According to project documents reviewed by Ghanaian Watch, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will focus on:
Minimising displacement
Protecting forest reserves
Managing river crossings
Preserving agro-ecological systems
A Ministry of Environment source stated:
“The EIA will be rigorous. The Pra and Birim basins in particular have been heavily stressed by mining, so this expressway must not add further environmental pressure.”
A Symbol of Modernisation and National Progress
When completed, the expressway is expected to stand as a national landmark, a proof of Ghana’s commitment to sustainable development, mobility modernisation, and inclusive economic growth.
A policy expert summed it up succinctly:
“This is more than concrete and asphalt. It is a statement about Ghana’s future.”