Patrick Yaw Boamah, the Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, has described the planned Accra-Kumasi expressway as unnecessary and a misplaced priority.
The lawmaker lambasted the Mahama government for failing to add to the existing road project, but rather seeking to undertake what he describes as a far-fetched project that lacks funding.
Speaking on the floor of parliament, Patrick Yaw Boamah stated, “Mr Speaker, if you look at the cover page of this year’s budget, you can see a clear Photoshop of a certain express road that the minister spoke about.
Mr Speaker, what is the crime of the people of this country, especially most of us who travel that road to our villages, especially from Accra to Paga and to Bawku, for eight years from 2009 to 2016, not a single kilometre was added by the NDC government.
You come into government instead of prioritising the completion of the dualization of the Accra-Kumasi road, you are telling us that you are going to construct an express road with what funds?”
The lawmaker added, “It is a completely misplaced priority. What the Ghanaian want to see is the completion of the dualization project that was started by the Akufo-Addo Kufuor administration, then you can look at that. Even the financial muscle does not help you, how are you going to construct this?”.
He further added, “In 2025, only, death on the Accra-Kumasi highway is 525 for the Eastern Region, Ashanti 570, and Greater Accra 331. A reasonable government will take the completion of the dualization program as a priority, complete it and save Ghanaian lives rather than taking another step of constructing an expressway way which I believe is not a priority for Ghanaians”.
Meanwhile, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister for Finance, has said the John Mahama-led government is committed to completing the 198-kilometre Accra–Kumasi Expressway in three years.
The Finance Minister revealed, the expressway is one of the top priorities of the Mahama government under the Big Push Infrastructure Programme.
According to Ato Forson, the 198-kilometre Accra–Kumasi Expressway is designed to ease travel, improve safety and connect Ghana’s two largest cities.
He further revealed that the project will operate on a user-pay model, explaining that the toll will differ.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast on Friday, November 14, 2025, Dr Forson stated, “With the express road, you will pay something higher than a toll, but with a trunk road, you will not pay, or at worst, you pay only a toll fee.
“We are working on the financing for the Accra-Kumasi Express road. The engineer’s estimate is already out, but because they have yet to tender it out, I cannot put the financing out like that.
“We have budgeted 30 billion for Big Push. President Mahama will finish this project before he leaves office,” he said.
When asked if the 198km Accra–Kumasi Expressway could be completed within three years, Ato Forson stated, “Yes, we will get it done.”
In the video shared during the 2025 budget presentation by Ato Forson, he stated, “The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is the flagship of President Mohammed’s Big Push infrastructure program.
It is Ghana’s first fully modern six-lane bi-directional Class A expressway, a highway worthy of a nation on the rise. Stretching 198.7 kilometres, this expressway will become the central spine of Ghana’s economy, linking our capital city, Accra and Kumasi, the heartbeat of the Ashanti Region”.
He further added, “It will cut through the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions, creating a powerful southern-northern economic corridor that connects people, markets, and opportunities. To achieve this, the expressway follows a brand new alignment.
This alone reduces the current travel distance by more than 50 kilometres, bringing it down from 250 kilometres to just under 199 kilometres. The impact on time and efficiency will be remarkable. Travel time between Accra and Kumasi will be cut by half. Transport costs are expected to fall by nearly 40%”.
Watch the video below:
Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, has described the planned Accra-Kumasi expressway as unnecessary and a misplaced priority.
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) November 20, 2025
He lambasted the government for failing to add to the existing road project but rather seeking to undertake what he describes… pic.twitter.com/e4du8yYA6U