Accra–Kumasi Expressway: land cleared and funding pledged as safety and compensation questions grow

Pinned summary · as of 05:04

Work on a new expressway of roughly 199 kilometres between Accra and Kumasi has moved past land clearing, with government ministers saying the money is being found without borrowing. Onua Online spoke to farmers, residents and a chief along the corridor, The Vaultz News summarised an IMANI Africa study of online discussion about the project, and The Ghana Report looked at how the road could be made safer.

What we know

• The Accra–Kumasi Expressway is a government project of roughly 199 kilometres, designed mainly as a six-lane road. Onua Online gave the length as 198.7 kilometres, and The Ghana Report described it as a new road with interchanges.
• Land along the route has been cleared. Onua Online reported that farms have been lost to the road, while The Vaultz News, citing IMANI, said Ghana Armed Forces engineers cleared the route.
• Government leaders say the expressway is being paid for without loans. President John Dramani Mahama said the money has been secured with nothing borrowed, and Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said the full sum would be in place by the end of 2026 without borrowing.
• The project has been presented as part of the government's Big Push Infrastructure Programme, according to Onua Online and to the IMANI study cited by The Vaultz News.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

• ?
  The Ghana Report said US$1.7 billion has been set aside at the Bank of Ghana for the road. No other report gives an amount, so the figure is unconfirmed. Mr Ato Forson's statement, by contrast, put the completion of the funding at the close of 2026.
• ?
  Onua Online reported Mr Mahama as saying a trip on the finished road would take about two hours instead of five to six on the old highway. No other report gives a journey time, and the road is not yet built.
• ?
  The Vaultz News, citing IMANI, said the route was cleared in 19 weeks, a week ahead of the 20-week estimate. This figure comes from the study alone.
• ?
  Onua Online quoted a farmer named Kofi as saying almost all cocoa trees on the route have been felled, and he asked the government to pay the compensation owed to affected farmers. Yaa Pokuaa, another farmer, said the project had destroyed her community's livelihood and urged completion so that the sacrifice would not be wasted. No other report carries these accounts.
• ?
  According to Onua Online, the road starts at Ablekuma in Accra and ends at Sawuah, where it meets the Lake Bosomtwe road in Ashanti. The publication also listed eight interchanges along with toll stations and service areas, and a 23.1-kilometre four-lane stretch inside the ring roads. Other reports do not give these design details.
• ?
  Onua Online quoted residents who expect jobs and trade. Kwame Borga of Kwaso and Assembly member Seth Obeng Yamoah spoke of opportunities for young people and a boost to the local economy, and Nana Osei Fosu Adutwum, the chief of Kwaso, said major businesses could be drawn to the area and recalled an attempt to build the road in 1969 under Kofi Abrefa Busia. These are individual views reported once.
• ?
  The Ghana Report said the new expressway is meant to run alongside the existing Accra–Kumasi highway rather than replace it. This comes from one report only.
• ?
  The Vaultz News reported that the IMANI Africa PULSE study followed political content on seven digital platforms from 8 August to 7 September 2026. IMANI found the expressway led online economic discussion and credited this to a funding pledge paired with a measurable milestone. It counted 512 mentions on infrastructure, and it said partisan credit-claiming by NDC-aligned voices was the main personality content. These are IMANI's findings, reported by a single publication.
• ?
  The Ghana Report, citing the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), said road crashes killed 2,673 people from January to November 2025, up 18.5 per cent on the previous year, and reported 383 road deaths in January 2026 against 261 a year earlier. It named the Ashanti, Eastern and Greater Accra regions as worst affected. These figures have not been confirmed by other reports.
• ?
  Eastern Regional NRSA officials, quoted by The Ghana Report, said successive governments left an unfinished dualisation on the current highway, which forces traffic onto single lanes where overtaking is dangerous. The publication also listed fatal crashes on that highway in 2026, including at Suhum in April and near Nsawam in February.
• ?
  An opinion column in The Ghana Report argued for access only through interchanges, a continuous median barrier, service roads, truck lay-bys, weigh stations, lighting, camera-linked speed enforcement and a fenced buffer of about 50 metres on each side. These are the writer's recommendations, not decisions by any authority.
• ?
  Road Lines Foundation said it is willing to assist the roads ministry with safety reviews and public education while work continues. Only The Ghana Report carried the offer.

Why it matters for Ghana

For travellers between Accra and Kumasi, a second road could change journey times and ease traffic on the present highway. For farming families and villages along the route, including around Kwaso, the immediate question is whether compensation arrives promptly after crops and land were lost. The road safety figures and recommendations also show that the design and enforcement of the new road will affect how many lives are at risk on one of the country's busiest corridors.