The government has imposed a strict 24-month completion window on all road projects under its flagship “Big Push” infrastructure programme, with authorities expecting the vast majority of contracts to be physically handed over by the end of 2027, Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, Alhassan Suhuyini, announced on Wednesday.
Speaking on Channel One’s Newsroom programme, Suhuyini revealed that the accelerated timeline represents a significant reduction from the standard industry benchmark. “Under normal circumstances, engineers advise that such projects require about 36 months to complete. However, we have deliberately compressed that to 24 months for the Big Push,” he said, emphasising that the government is determined to fast-track road connectivity ahead of the 2028 electoral cycle.
The Big Push programme, launched earlier this year as a central pillar of President John Dramani Mahama’s infrastructure renewal agenda, encompasses over 200 road projects across all 16 regions, with a combined estimated value exceeding GH¢15 billion. Funding is drawn from a mix of the national budget, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), and multilateral loans from the African Development Bank and the World Bank. The initiative aims to rehabilitate critical trunk roads, improve urban mobility, and reduce travel times on key economic corridors, notably the Accra-Kumasi highway, the Tema-Aflao route, and the Eastern Region’s feeder networks.
Suhuyini acknowledged that some contractors have already fallen behind schedule, citing logistical bottlenecks, material shortages, and the lingering effects of last year’s economic turbulence. To counter this, the Ministry has intensified on-site monitoring, deploying technical teams from the Department of Urban Roads and the Ghana Highway Authority to conduct weekly progress audits. “We are sustaining pressure on the field. Corrective measures—including penalty clauses and performance bonds—are being enforced to bring off-schedule contractors back on track,” he stated.
Notably, the deputy minister offered specific timelines for two major arteries. On the heavily congested Adenta-Madina stretch in Accra, he said government has received firm assurances from the contractor that the first significant phase—including the interchange and connecting ramps—will be opened to traffic by December 2026, providing immediate relief to commuters. For the Tema-Aflao corridor, a vital trade route linking the port to the border, Suhuyini said partial sections will be operational by year-end, though full completion will extend into 2027 due to the complexity of the dualisation works.
Crucially, Suhuyini projected that President Mahama will begin commissioning completed projects from mid-2027, with a ceremonial rollout expected to coincide with the government’s mid-term performance review. “By the middle of next year, His Excellency should be cutting ribbons on several of these projects. That is our target,” he said.
The announcement has drawn cautious optimism from the construction industry, though some stakeholders have raised concerns about the feasibility of the 24-month window given Ghana’s seasonal rains, supply chain volatility, and the rising cost of bitumen and aggregates. The Association of Road Contractors has called for a more realistic phasing plan, warning that rushing could compromise quality. In response, Suhuyini insisted that supervision remains paramount: “We will not sacrifice durability for speed. All works will pass strict certification before handover.”
The Big Push programme represents a stark contrast to the previous administration’s stalled road projects, many of which were abandoned or significantly overrun. With the 2027 deadline now firmly set, the Ministry is betting that accelerated delivery will not only ease the nation’s perennial traffic woes but also restore public confidence in the state’s ability to execute large-scale infrastructure on time. As Suhuyini put it: “This is not just about asphalt and concrete—it is about the daily lives of Ghanaians who have waited too long for roads that work.”
