0
0 NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/ghana-armed-forces-clear-51km-of-expressway-corridor/The Ghana Armed Forces have cleared approximately 51 kilometres of the corridor earmarked for the proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway, marking the first concrete physical milestone on one of the government’s most significant infrastructure commitments.
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced the progress on Thursday in a Facebook post, confirming that the military-led initial phase is now well underway. “So far, about 51km of the entire stretch has been successfully cleared,” he said.
The clearing work is being conducted by the Ghana Armed Forces under direct presidential direction, a deployment that the Finance Minister described as proceeding with professionalism. Forson framed the milestone as the foundation of a project intended to reshape economic activity along the Accra-Kumasi corridor, one of the country’s busiest and most commercially vital transport routes.
The minister also announced a compensation timeline for residents and communities affected by the project’s path. Following assessments by relevant state agencies, compensation payments are set to begin in June, with the Ghana Armed Forces taking responsibility for disbursements once the valuations are concluded.
The proposed expressway is designed as a 198.7-kilometre, six-lane limited-access highway that would reduce travel time between Accra and Kumasi to approximately two and a half hours. Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, a subsidiary of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, was established to manage the project’s design, financing, construction and a concession arrangement of up to 50 years.
The project has not been without controversy. Opposition members of parliament challenged the government’s decision to pursue a new expressway while the existing dualisation of the Accra-Kumasi highway remains incomplete, with critics arguing that the move diverts attention and resources from a partially finished project. The government has maintained that the expressway is a distinct and strategically superior intervention for the long-term needs of the corridor.
Thursday’s update is the first to report measurable clearance progress on the ground, giving the project a physical dimension it had previously lacked in public reporting.
NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/ghana-armed-forces-clear-51km-of-expressway-corridor/
