The government is reviewing the design and scope of its flagship 24-hour model market initiative and plans to rename the project “District Model Markets,” Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Mahama Ayariga has announced.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House on Monday, October 5, 2026, Mr. Ayariga said the review followed consultations on how best to align the projects with available resources while ensuring their completion within two years.
“Deliberations are ongoing with a view to remodelling the designs and rescoping the project to fit readily available budget and urgent need to complete the markets within two years,” he said.
A Flagship Policy Under Review
The 24-Hour Model Markets Project is a flagship initiative under the government’s broader 24-Hour Economy policy, aimed at modernising market infrastructure and improving trading conditions for businesses and traders across the country. The programme is designed to transform local trade by establishing modern, secure markets that operate around the clock in all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
The 24-Hour Economy policy itself was a central plank of President John Dramani Mahama’s 2024 campaign. Since assuming office, the government has moved to establish the legal and regulatory framework for the programme, with Parliament approving the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill and the President signing it into law in February 2026. The policy is expected to maximise productivity, create jobs, and position Ghana’s economy for accelerated growth by enabling businesses to operate around the clock through a system of incentives and support mechanisms.
In the 2026 Budget, GH¢110 million was committed to the implementation of the initiative, with additional incentives including tax rebates on electricity consumed during off-peak hours and enhanced security for night-time operations.
Sod Cutting Across Seven Regions
President Mahama has already cut the sod for the commencement of the flagship markets in seven regions, with projects now at various stages of development across the 261 MMDAs.
The first sod was cut at Dormaa Ahenkro in the Bono Region on March 18, 2026, opening the first leg of the President’s nationwide “Resetting Ghana Tour.” Subsequent ceremonies followed in Bole in the Savannah Region in May, Assin Breku in the Assin North District in June, and Juapong in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region in July, among others.
At Juapong, President Mahama described the project as a transformative investment that would drive agriculture, trade, industrialisation and job creation in the Volta Region, noting that the town’s strategic location along the Volta River and its rich agricultural potential made it an ideal commercial hub.
The President explained that the Juapong facility would serve as more than a traditional market, having been designed as a modern enterprise centre to support aggregation, storage, processing, packaging, digital commerce, financial services and efficient distribution of agricultural produce.
He said the market would comprise 100 lockable stores, 150 market stalls, 10 warehouses, a supermarket, restaurants and food courts, a livestock section, butcher shops with cold storage, a police post, fire station, clinic, pharmacy, daycare centre, washrooms, administrative offices and a branch of the Women’s Development Bank to support women entrepreneurs.
Juapong was designated to receive one of the country’s largest Category Four markets, despite not being a metropolitan assembly, because of its economic importance and strategic location.
Kejetia Phase II and Takoradi Market Circle: Contractors to Return
Mr. Ayariga also disclosed that negotiations had been completed to enable contractors to return to site to complete the Kumasi Central Market Phase II and Takoradi Market Circle projects.
The Kumasi Central Market Phase Two project, also known as the Kejetia Market project, was awarded in December 2018 at a contract sum of €248 million and had reached 58.22 percent completion before work was suspended in 2024 due to non-payment of Interim Payment Certificates and the subsequent demobilisation of contractors. The cost of the stalled project has since risen to over €305 million due to suspension claims, unpaid contractor certificates, and demobilisation costs.
Phase One of the Kumasi Central Market redevelopment, initiated in 2014 under former President Mahama, was successfully completed at a cost of over US$259 million.
On the Takoradi Market Circle redevelopment, the project commenced in April 2020 at a cost of €48 million and had achieved 81.62 percent overall progress before suspension. Engineering works were fully completed, with procurement at nearly 89 percent and construction at just over 62 percent. Out of the total contract sum, more than €41 million has been paid, with an outstanding balance of over €6 million yet to be settled.
The Takoradi project was initiated to replace the old market structure, which was constructed in the 1920s, but construction works were suspended in early 2023 amid financial difficulties, significantly affecting traders and businesses.
Mr. Ayariga has previously engaged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and consultants to review progress on the 24-Hour Model Markets Project, with the objective of developing functional and sustainable markets that respond to the needs of local communities.
The Government Accountability Series
The platform on which Mr. Ayariga made the announcement is itself an innovation of the current administration. The Government Accountability Series was launched in July 2025 as a forum where Ministers of State take turns to brief the public on their ministries’ performance and respond to questions.
Mr. Ayariga’s appearance at the Jubilee House on October 5 marked his turn at the series, where he accounted for his ministry’s performance and responded to questions on key issues within the local government sector. During the same event, he disclosed that over GH¢5 billion from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) was disbursed to MMDAs in 2025, compared with only GH¢390 million in 2024 under the previous administration — a more than twelve-fold increase.
He also announced that 397 CHPS compounds and health centres had been completed under MMDA projects, with significant progress made in the education and water sectors.
What It Means
The renaming and remodelling of the market project represents a significant recalibration of one of the government’s most visible policy initiatives. While the 24-Hour Economy policy remains a central pillar of the administration’s economic transformation agenda, the practical realities of implementing a nationwide market construction programme across 261 districts have necessitated a review of design, scope and cost.
The proposed changes are expected to align the market projects more closely with available resources while maintaining the government’s objective of providing improved trading facilities across the country.
The success of the District Model Markets project will ultimately be measured by the tangible benefits it delivers to traders and communities — whether the markets are completed on time, whether they provide the modern facilities traders need to operate efficiently around the clock, and whether they genuinely stimulate local economic activity.
For now, the government is signalling a pragmatic approach: build fewer, better, and within budget.
Source: Government Accountability Series, Jubilee House, October 5, 2026. Additional reporting from MyJoyOnline, Ghana News Agency, GBC Ghana Online, Information Services Department, and Graphic Online.
