Politics

Mahama: ‘It’s a shame Ghana’s two biggest cities have used single carriageway for 70 years’

Barbara 2 weeks ago 2 min read

President John Dramani Mahama has described as a “shame” the continued reliance on a single carriageway to connect Accra and Kumasi, Ghana’s two largest cities, for about 70 years.

He said the situation must change as the country seeks to improve transportation infrastructure and strengthen economic activity between the two major centres.

Mahama made the remarks at Kwaso in the Ashanti Region on Monday, September 14, during the formal handover of the cleared right-of-way for the proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway.

“It is a shame that for 70 years we have had to have our two largest cities connected by a single carriageway.”

“This is going to change,” he added.

The President said the importance of Accra and Kumasi to Ghana’s population and economy makes a modern transport connection between them necessary.

“These two cities are the cities with the biggest population in Ghana, and they also have the largest commercial and economic activity in Ghana, Accra and Kumasi.”

He said efficient transport corridors are critical to the development of countries, particularly by facilitating the movement of people and goods.

“For all countries that have grown great, they have grown great because they opened the transportation corridors for passengers and goods to move freely across their countries.”

Mahama noted that Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, had taken an important step in expanding the country’s transport infrastructure through the construction of the Tema Motorway.

The proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway forms part of the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme. It is planned as a 198.7-kilometre, six-lane highway connecting Greater Accra, the Eastern Region and the Ashanti Region.

As part of preparations for the project, the Ghana Armed Forces has cleared 175.6 kilometres of the right-of-way in 19 weeks, completing the exercise one week ahead of the 20-week target.

The new expressway is expected to provide a faster and more efficient alternative to the existing Accra-Kumasi road and improve the movement of passengers and goods along the corridor.