Beyond the $500m: Ghana must maintain what it builds
The approval of $500 million by the World Bank to improve Ghana’s road infrastructure and transform the transport sector is welcome news at a time when deteriorating roads continue to exact a heavy toll on the economy and the daily lives of citizens.
Under the Ghana Market Access and Connectivity Project, the funding will finance the rehabilitation of about 1,050 kilometres of feeder roads through performance-based maintenance contracts.
The project is expected to improve connectivity, boost agricultural productivity, reduce transport costs and support rural livelihoods.
For a country with a road network of about 94,200 kilometres, however, the intervention must be seen as the beginning of a broader transformation rather than a complete solution to Ghana’s transport challenges.
The World Bank’s Division Head for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Dr Robert Taliercio, said only 27 per cent of Ghana’s road network was paved, while more than half remained in fair-to-poor condition, particularly feeder roads.
The poor road network is estimated to cost the economy about GH¢4.5 billion annually.
That is money Ghana can ill afford to lose, particularly as the country works to consolidate its economic recovery.
Dr Taliercio’s warning that “Building roads without maintaining them simply accelerates the cycle of degradation that we are all trying to break” should, therefore, be taken seriously.
For years, the country has struggled with a familiar pattern: roads are constructed, maintenance is delayed, the roads deteriorate and much more money is subsequently required for rehabilitation.
Breaking this cycle requires a fundamental change in how road infrastructure is financed, managed and maintained.
The proposed operationalisation of the Road Maintenance Trust Fund is consequently important. It must become an effective and sustainable mechanism for ensuring that roads are maintained before they become too expensive to repair.
Ghana must also look beyond roads. The decline in the operational rail network from 947 kilometres in 1960 to just 160 kilometres in 2020, with population access falling from nearly 30 per cent to less than one per cent, is a worrying reflection of the country’s transport challenges.
The proposed revitalisation of freight-led rail services along the Western and Eastern corridors should, therefore, receive serious attention.
Similarly, road safety and climate-resilient infrastructure must form an integral part of the transport transformation.
We welcome the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme, including the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, Afram River and Dambai bridges.
These projects should complement the World Bank investment within a coherent national transport strategy.
As Dr Taliercio rightly noted, increased infrastructure spending alone will not deliver lasting gains without reforms in maintenance financing, institutional co-ordination and governance.
The economic gains recorded in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 are encouraging.
Ghana grew by six per cent in 2025 and 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, while inflation fell from 23.2 per cent in February 2025 to 4.6 per cent in July 2026. Public debt also declined from 70.3 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 49 per cent at the end of 2025.
But with 56.4 per cent of Ghanaians still living in poverty and capital expenditure in 2025 38 per cent below budget, the recovery remains incomplete.
As Dr Cassiel Ato Forson put it, “Stability is a foundation. It is not a destination.”
The government must ensure that every dollar invested in transport delivers maximum value. Projects must be properly supervised, quality standards enforced and expenditure transparently monitored.
The real measure of success will not be the number of roads constructed or commissioned, but how long they remain usable, how much they reduce transport costs and how effectively they connect farmers, businesses and communities to opportunities.
The $500 million is an important opportunity to reset Ghana’s approach to transport infrastructure.
Build well. Maintain diligently. Spend responsibly and ensure that this investment delivers the economic transformation Ghanaians deserve.
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