Only about 27 percent of Ghana’s 94,200-kilometre road network is paved, with more than half of the paved roads assessed to be in fair-to-poor condition, according to the World Bank.
The Bank also estimates that road crashes cost Ghana about US$4.55 billion annually, equivalent to approximately 2.1 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The figures were contained in the World Bank’s 10th Ghana Economic Update, launched in Accra on Wednesday under the theme, “Reset for Growth: Sustaining macroeconomic recovery and unlocking transport for transformation.”
Dr Robert Taliercio O’Brien, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said Ghana’s transport infrastructure gap was creating high economic costs.
“The economic cost is staggering, road safety incidents alone cost an estimated 2.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually – roughly US$4.55 billion – more than the entire national education budget,” he said.
The World Bank report also highlighted the deterioration of Ghana’s railway system. The country had about 947 kilometres of operational rail in 1960, but this had fallen to approximately 160 kilometres by 2020.
Rail access has also declined sharply, from nearly 30 percent of the population in 1960 to less than one percent in 2020.
According to the Bank, Ghana’s transport challenges are made worse by fragmented institutional responsibilities, which have affected coordination in the planning and implementation of projects.
The World Bank said it provided US$500 million in May 2026 through the Ghana Market Access and Connectivity Project to support the rehabilitation of about 1,050 kilometres of feeder roads under performance-based maintenance contracts.
“This is not just an infrastructure story, it is a growth story, a competitiveness story, a jobs story,” Dr O’Brien said.
He outlined six priority areas for transforming Ghana’s transport sector, including operationalising the Road Maintenance Trust, developing a unified national transport strategy and revitalising the eastern and western rail corridors.
The Bank also called for road safety to be treated as a public health emergency, while urging Ghana to adopt climate-resilient standards in new infrastructure projects.
Other recommendations included introducing a digital single window to streamline permits, inspections and logistics processes.
Dr O’Brien described the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme as a significant ambition and reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s efforts to address its transport infrastructure challenges.
However, he warned that infrastructure investment alone would not deliver the expected economic benefits.
“The returns will only materialise if reforms in maintenance financing, institutional coordination, and governance are implemented alongside the capital investment,” he said.
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, whose speech was delivered by Coordinating Director of the Ministry of Finance Samuel Arkhurst, said the government recognised the infrastructure deficit and was taking steps to address it.
He said recent economic improvements provided a foundation for the government to focus on translating growth into jobs, investment and development across underserved communities.
“This is precisely the thinking behind our Big Push Infrastructure Programme, the largest coordinated investment in strategic transport infrastructure that Ghana has undertaken in recent years,” Dr Forson said.
According to him, projects were underway in all 16 regions by the end of June 2026, with 13 projects at least 50 percent complete and six recording completion levels above 75 percent.
He also disclosed progress on the proposed 176-kilometre, six-lane Accra-Kumasi Expressway, saying 122 kilometres of the right-of-way had been cleared.
Feasibility studies and engineering designs were expected to be completed by the end of August, with construction procurement scheduled for September.
Dr Forson also cited progress on the Adawso-Ekye Amanfrom Bridge over the Afram River and the Dambai Bridge along the Eastern Corridor, describing both projects as important to improving connectivity for communities that have faced transport challenges for decades.
He said the World Bank’s US$500 million feeder roads project, covering 13 regions, was expected to reduce travel times by 40 percent, lower transportation costs and post-harvest losses, and create about 25,000 jobs, including 7,500 for women.
“When a farmer in the Afram Plains or along the Northern Corridor can get her produce to market without losing a third of it to a damaged road, that is not just an infrastructure achievement. It is a food security story, an income story, and a story about who gets to share in growth,” he added.
