‘The Expressway Is Beyond Kumasi’ – Ato Forson
‘The Expressway Is Beyond Kumasi; It Is Building a Country’ – Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson wants Ghanaians to think bigger about the Accra-Kumasi Expressway. In his view, this isn’t simply a road connecting the capital to the country’s second-largest city it’s the foundation of something much larger.
Speaking on Ahenfie FM in Kumasi on Monday, September 14, Forson laid out government’s broader ambition for the project. The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is not just a road linking the capital city and second largest city, Kumasi. No. It is far from that. The intention of government is to open the country up, from South to North, he said.
He explained the logic behind starting with Accra-Kumasi first since any route to northern Ghana naturally passes through the middle belt, this stretch had to come before anything else.
According to Forson, once this section is done, attention shifts to the Kumasi Outer Ring Road, also known as the Kumasi Orbital Road. After this is done, the President will announce the second phase, then we continue to Tamale, he said.
For Forson, extending the corridor all the way to Tamale is where the real transformation begins. That means that you have successfully connected the country from the South to the North. That is the beginning of transformation, he explained.
He was firm that measuring this project purely by the distance between Accra and Kumasi misses the point entirely. The Expressway is beyond Kumasi. It is building a country, he said.
Forson didn’t shy away from a pointed critique of Ghana’s track record on major road infrastructure. He argued the country has fallen short since the Accra-Tema Motorway was built under Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, back in the early 1960s.
Let’s call a spade a spade, we have not done well as a country, he said, adding a rhetorical question that cut straight to his point: After Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in the early 60s built Accra-Tema Motorway, 19km, what have we done ourselves as the new generation?
For him, the Accra-Kumasi Expressway needs to be understood as part of a much longer-term national infrastructure strategy, not just a quicker route between two cities.
Work on the project has already made real headway. Engineers from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces cleared 175.6 kilometres of the corridor in just 19 weeks, a week ahead of the original 20-week schedule. That stretch runs from Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region to Sewua in the Ashanti Region, cutting through virgin forest, rivers, and streams.
Once complete, the full expressway will span roughly 198.7 kilometres 176 kilometres of newly built six-lane dual carriageway, plus about 23 kilometres of upgraded connector roads at both the Accra and Kumasi ends.
President Mahama has described it as the single largest capital investment by any government in Ghana’s history.
According to Engineer Francis Ahlidza, Managing Director of Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, the road will be constructed as a Class A highway with a three-lane dual carriageway on a 36-metre standard roadbed, designed for speeds of up to 120km/h. It will include 8 grade-separated interchanges, 11 vehicle overpasses, 55 mainline bridges, 9 at-grade intersections, around 200 box culverts, and four service areas.
Once finished, the expressway is expected to shorten the distance between Accra and Kumasi by about 50 kilometres, cut travel time from roughly six hours down to two, and reduce travel costs by approximately 40 percent.
On the financial side, Forson had earlier told Parliament during the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review that US$1.7 billion had already been deposited into a dedicated Accra-Kumasi Expressway Account at the Bank of Ghana, ring-fenced specifically for this project.
At the handover ceremony, President Mahama revealed that an initial $2 billion is currently available to begin work, with that figure expected to grow to $4 billion by the end of the year to fully finance the project.
Government has confirmed that the Expression of Interest for pre-qualifying contractors was published on September 11, 2026, with the contract award expected before the year is out.
