President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) will serve as a major sub-contractor on the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
The President made the announcement on Monday, September 14, 2026, during the formal handover of the 175.6-kilometre cleared right-of-way for the project at Ejisu-Kwaso in the Ashanti Region.
The decision follows the successful completion of the right-of-way clearing exercise by the 48 Engineer Regiment, which completed the work in 19 weeks, one week ahead of the original 20-week schedule.
President Mahama has also directed the Regiment to begin preparations to clear the right-of-way for the proposed New Accra Orbital Motorway, further expanding the military engineers’ role in the government’s infrastructure programme.
Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu said the President had instructed the Roads and Highways Minister to incorporate the 48 Engineer Regiment into the expressway project as a major sub-contractor to the main contractor.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu also disclosed that $2 billion is currently available in a dedicated account to finance the commencement of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, with the President expecting the amount to rise to $4 billion by the end of the year.
“President Mahama says there is currently $2 billion in a special account for the commencement of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
“By close of year, there will be $4 billion in the account to fully finance the project.”
The proposed expressway is a 198.7-kilometre, six-lane access-controlled highway forming part of the government’s flagship Big Push infrastructure programme.
It is expected to improve connectivity between Accra and Kumasi, reduce travel time and congestion, and support the movement of people and goods.
Roads and Highways Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza has previously described the project as a major legacy intervention for the Mahama administration.
“Accra-Kumasi Expressway is our generational intervention. We are going to be 70 years. The President’s vision is that we should do something so that the generations ahead of us will say that when we were also here, we did something remarkable.”
He added, “Dr Nkrumah and others did other things: they did the Tema Motorway, they did the port, and other things. We also must do something to hold our place in history on behalf of our people,” he said.
With the right-of-way now cleared, the project is moving into the detailed design and procurement stages before the commencement of major construction works.
