Ayariga: Traders to Pay Market Value for Kejetia Phase Two
Ayariga: Traders to Pay Market Value for Kejetia Phase Two
Government is exploring a new way to get Phase Two of the Kejetia Redevelopment Market in Kumasi moving again one that involves traders themselves paying to help fund its completion.
The project has been stuck for a while now, weighed down by funding constraints and rising construction costs. Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Mahama Ayariga wants the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to collect payments directly from traders at market value, using that revenue to help push the next phase forward.
According to Ayariga, this approach would do more than just unlock funding. It would also expand trading space in Kumasi, ease the pressure that’s currently pushing traders onto the streets, and generate additional resources for further development across the metropolis.
Ayariga traced part of the delay back to Ghana’s broader debt situation. He pointed to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which Ghana launched on December 5, 2022, along with the subsequent suspension of payments on most of the country’s external commercial and bilateral debt later that same month. Together, these developments disrupted the original financing arrangement behind the Kejetia contract.
To get things back on track, government is now working alongside the Finance Ministry, the Kumasi Mayor, and the Ashanti Regional Minister to mobilise funding and support the contractor’s return to the site. Still, Ayariga was candid about the limits of what’s currently available the funding on hand may not stretch far enough to complete every element of the project exactly as originally designed.
Once finished, Phase Two will add 3,760 counter shops, more than 6,000 lockable shops, and a transport terminal capable of handling 600 vehicles to the existing Kejetia complex. The project itself was signed as a €248 million contract back in December 2018, with an original completion timeline of 48 months.
Project consultant Tony Yeboah of Avangarde Design Services gave a detailed breakdown of progress so far. Overall, the development sits at 68 percent complete. Procurement has reached 84 percent, and engineering work is nearly finished at 99 percent but actual construction lags behind at just 49 percent. So far, €171 million has been paid toward the project.
