President John Mahama is set to receive a 175.6-kilometre right-of-way clearance for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, with the Ghana Armed Forces scheduled to hand over the corridor on Monday, according to Modern Ghana.
The handover marks a step forward for the flagship road project, which is expected to create 30,000 jobs, Finance Minister Ato Forson has said, as reported by gbcghanaonline.com.
The clearance covers land along the route that must be freed before construction can proceed. The Ghana Armed Forces have been involved in securing the corridor, and residents along the Kumasi Expressway have credited military patrols with reducing armed robbery in the area, according to 3News.
Separately, Roads and Highways Minister Agbodza has indicated that major roads under the government's "Big Push" programme will be tolled once they are completed, the DailyGuide Network reported. That statement has implications for how the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and similar projects will be funded and maintained over time.
The expressway is one of the largest infrastructure undertakings on the government's agenda, linking the capital to Ghana's second-largest city. The right-of-way transfer is a procedural milestone that allows work to move ahead on a corridor that has required both land clearance and security arrangements.
What to watch next: whether the handover proceeds as scheduled on Monday and when physical construction activity begins along the cleared route.
