Project Manager for the Pokuase-Nsawam Highway project, Ing. Awuku Asare, has expressed pessimism about his outfit being able to complete the road project within nine (9) months.

Construction works have resumed on the stalled Pokuase-Nsawam Highway project, which is expected to be completed in May 2026. However, Ing. Awuku Asare has indicated that his team is currently confronted with several challenges that may necessitate a request for an extension of the completion deadline.

Among the difficulties he highlighted, Ing. Awuku Asare explained that completing the interchange alone would likely take about seven months out of the proposed nine-month duration. According to him, by the seventh month, they might not have even “completed the top” of the interchange.

“Within 2 or 23 weeks, you must be done with the basic maintenance. Yeah, we have up to May 2026 to complete it, and if there are any snags, they will definitely ask for an extension. And I’m telling you one snag—it’s going to take us about 7 months to complete the interchange. But now, if the compensation is done and we are going to count another 3 months up to November, it means we are going to start from November. Then November to May is about 7 months; we wouldn’t have completed the top. Then we… so there will be a basis to ask for any extension if it comes like that…,” he noted.

Another setback that may delay the completion of the project is the legal tussle with affected persons, some of whom have taken the government to court over their eviction, citing delays in compensation.

“Talking about this compensation, we have to—there are some individuals who have sent us to court. In fact, they wanted to even put an injunction on the construction works. But we just had a letter from the engineer, who is the Highway Authority, that the court didn’t grant. So we can go ahead and do the demolitions and complete them,” he added.

He further mentioned that the ongoing relocation of electricity cables, which were found in the right-of-way, remains another challenge that must be resolved before full-scale work can continue.

“…So that challenge is there. There are also some electricity lines and water lines in the right-of-way. They have all encroached on the right-of-way, and it shouldn’t have happened like that,” he continued.

Meanwhile, relief has come to commuters, particularly drivers who ply the barely motorable, waterlogged Pokuase-Nsawam Highway, following the government’s settlement of GH¢809 million to the contractor working on the project.

The release of the funds was confirmed by the Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Agyei. According to him, as of August 4, the government had fully settled this payment to facilitate the resumption of work.

During an interview on Accra-based Peace FM on Monday, August 18, Mr. Agyei explained that the government had discharged all its financial obligations for the project. He noted that payments were made in three separate batches within thirteen days, starting from late July to early August.

“We made partial payments on 24th July, followed by another on 30th July, and the final payment was made on 4th August. In total, we have honoured the full amount of GH¢809 million as requested,” he explained.

His comments came after threats of a sit-down strike by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU). In a statement issued on Friday, August 15, the union had given a five-day ultimatum to the government to ensure the resumption of work on the road by Wednesday, August 20.

The GPRTU stressed that the only condition that would make them rescind their decision to strike was seeing contractors back on site. They described the road as a “death trap.”

“The only thing that will make us change our minds is seeing the contractors back on the road. We cannot continue to risk lives and livelihoods on a road that has become a death trap. If nothing changes by Wednesday, August 20, we will park our vehicles,” Samuel Amoah, National Deputy PRO of the union, said in the statement.

They further called on commuters, residents, and other affected parties to join them in demanding action from the government.

“We are calling on all commuters, residents, and stakeholders to join this action—not just as a protest, but as a civic duty to demand accountability. This road has become a corridor of suffering. If the government will not act, the people must,” the statement continued.

However, following the contractor’s return to the site, repair works have resumed on the vital road, bringing relief after months of heavy traffic congestion on its worsening stretch. The GPRTU has since suspended the planned action.

Meanwhile, the company in charge of the project, Maripoma Enterprise Limited, has assured the public that the project will be completed by May 2026. Following a site visit by the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Sedem Afenyo, engineers indicated that they were working to complete filling and levelling by the end of the week.

The Member of Parliament, after observing the visible improvement in the state of the road, remarked, “I have never seen vehicles drive at this speed in the past two weeks. There is always traffic here.”

In July this year, Parliament unanimously endorsed the government’s proposal to divert all royalties from oil revenues and mineral resources to support the implementation of the Big Push Programme. This decision followed a request by the government for parliamentary approval to commit funds for the construction of specific road projects.

According to the Joint Committee on Budget and Finance, “The Committee has carefully considered the Referral, and it thinks that the request is in the right direction. The Committee also noted that Parliament had already approved the policy and the allocation to the ‘Big Push’ Programme in the 2025 Budget Statement. Granting the request would enable the Government to enter into multi-year contracts to execute the road infrastructure projects under the Programme.”

“The Committee accordingly recommends to the House to approve the Request for the multi-year commitments for the selected road projects under the ‘Big Push’ Programme contained in the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana, under Section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, (Act 921).”

The initiative, aimed at improving road infrastructure nationwide, is estimated at GH¢13.8 billion. It is expected to be completed by 2028 with support from the country’s financial resources.

According to the 2025 budget, the Road Fund owes GH¢5.75 billion, with GH¢2.81 billion allocated for road maintenance. This represents a 155.5% increase from the 2024 allocation of GH¢1.1 billion, underscoring the government’s emphasis on sustaining Ghana’s road network.

With Ghana’s economy valued at GH¢1.2 trillion, stakeholders are closely monitoring how the government balances infrastructure expansion with financial obligations. Earlier this year, Minister for Roads and Highways Kwame Governs Agbodza revealed that the government would settle GH¢4 billion of the debt owed to road contractors.

Currently, the government owes road contractors GH¢21 billion, according to the Minister. President John Dramani Mahama has also announced plans to begin paying part of this debt within the month.

“The Ministry of Finance has made dedicated financial allocations to address a substantial portion of the outstanding debts. We expect this to bring much-needed relief to the contractors and help accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure,” the President stated.