The Chief Executive Officer of Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, Francis Ahlidza, has confirmed that the official construction of the expressway is scheduled to start in January 2027.

He made the disclosure during an interview on Joy News’ The Pulse on Monday, September 14, highlighting that the President will cut the sod for works to begin before December this year.

“We expect it to begin by January 2027,” he said.

This comes after engineers of the Ghana Armed Forces completed the 175.6-kilometre corridor-clearing exercise in just 19 weeks, a week ahead of the original 20-week schedule, and formally handed over the cleared right-of-way for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Project to the government.

Mr Ahlidza mentioned that the Armed Forces was tasked by the Ministry of Roads and Highways and President John Dramani Mahama to deploy its personnel, engineers and equipment to clear the right-of-way.

“Today’s handing over ceremony marks a very key milestone in this project. It means that the Ghana Armed Forces have managed to clear the right-of-way, that is the alignment of the proposed expressway.”

He explained that with the right-of-way now handed over, the project has entered the procurement phase, with the designs already completed.

According to him, the authorities are inviting construction firms from across the world with the requisite capacity to express interest in the project. The interested firms will subsequently be assessed before qualified companies are invited to submit tenders.

Mr Ahlidza said the prequalification process is intended to ensure that only firms with the technical capacity to handle the complexity of the project proceed to the tender stage.

Accra-Kumasi Expressway to feature eight interchanges, 11 overpasses and 55 bridges

Eight grade-separated interchanges, 11 vehicle overpasses and 55 mainline bridges are among the key structures planned for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway. This forms part of the government’s effort to improve safety and ease traffic along the corridor.

The Managing Director of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, Engineer Francisco, made this known at the handover ceremony of a 175.6-kilometre right-of-way cleared by the Ghana Armed Forces on Monday, September 14.

He said the project would stretch approximately 198.7 kilometres, linking Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region to Sewua in the Ashanti Region. The development includes 176 kilometres of new expressway, as well as roughly 23 kilometres of upgraded connector roads serving the Accra and Kumasi termini.

He added, “When completed, this road will provide safer and more reliable transport and reduce the pressure on the N6”.

About the corridor clearing

GAF engineers, working in collaboration with the Ministries of Defence, Finance, and Roads and Highways, tackled dense vegetation and challenging terrain along the proposed six-lane dual carriageway corridor, which stretches through parts of the Greater Accra, Eastern and Ashanti regions.

Upon completion, GAF described the achievement as “delivering on mission ahead of schedule,” highlighting the engineering capability of its personnel and their growing role in supporting major national infrastructure projects.

The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is a flagship project under the government’s Big Push Infrastructure Programme.

The work involves preparing the designated route for the next phase o