Construction works on Section One of the Accra-Tema Motorway and Extensions Project have reached 53 per cent completion, with ongoing activities covering road pavement, drainage systems and bridge structures progressing steadily.
The US$339 million project was intended to ease traffic congestion, improve urban mobility and strengthen trade connectivity along one of Ghana’s busiest transport corridors.
The project is being implemented with the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ghana Highway Authority as public-sector partners, while ATEL is the concessionaire and Maripoma Enterprise Limited the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.
The Chief Executive Officer of Accra-Tema Expressway Limited (ATEL), Louis Harrison, said the project was designed to restore the motorway to a standard befitting its importance to the country’s economy.
Speaking at a media engagement and official launch of ATEL's website on Wednesday October 28,2026, Mr Harrison said the motorway, which opened in 1965, now carried approximately 60,000 vehicles daily, far exceeding the traffic volumes anticipated when it was constructed.
He said the road served commuters, businesses and freight transport linking Accra to Tema, Ghana’s principal industrial city and port.
PPP
Mr Harrison said the project was being implemented under a 30-year public-private partnership (PPP) toll-road concession, under which ATEL would finance, rebuild, expand, operate and maintain the motorway and its extensions in partnership with the government.
He said the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) was sponsoring the project, stressing that it was a demonstration of how institutional and private-sector capital could support major infrastructure development without placing the entire financing burden on the state.
On financing, Mr Harrison said the overall requirement was approximately US$380 million, with the final financing structure partly dependent on the toll level to be approved.
He said the concession agreement had received parliamentary approval, but the specific toll amount was yet to be determined and would be submitted to Parliament for consideration.
He added that ATEL was exploring local-currency financing with domestic banks to reduce exposure to foreign-exchange risks, as well as potential long-term pension-fund financing for subsequent sections.
Mr Harrison said procurement preparations for the second and third sections were underway, with the aim of overlapping their implementation to keep the overall programme within 48 months.
He also announced the launch of a project website to provide updates on construction progress, traffic diversions, milestones and safety notices.
Progess
The Chief Resident Engineer of ATEL Project Engineer, Kwabena Bempong, said the project had achieved approximately 53 per cent completion after 805 days, although progress was slightly behind schedule.
He expressed confidence that the contractor, Maripoma Enterprise Limited, would accelerate construction to meet the August 2027 completion date.
He said the project commenced in August 2024 and covers approximately 27.7 kilometres, comprising a 19.5-kilometre section currently under construction, a 5.7-kilometre stretch between Tetteh Quarshie and Apenkwa, and a 2.5-kilometre section of the N6 near the Tesano Police Station towards Achimota.
The first section he explained would feature a two-lane, access-controlled expressway alongside an urban highway with three lanes in each direction adding that selected portions would widen to five lanes in each direction to facilitate merging and movement between the two roads.
The project also included improvements to interchanges at Tetteh Quarshie, Teshie, Community 18 and Lashibi, alongside pedestrian crossing facilities.
Mr Bempong said the improvements would enhance access between communities on either side of the motorway and reduce unsafe pedestrian crossings and turning movements.
He said the project included 20 box culverts and three bridges, with construction progressing at various stages.
Inspection
During a site inspection, the Project Manager, Mr Benjamin Sackey, said concrete structures were approximately 70 per cent complete. He added that about four kilometres of road base course had been laid and was ready for asphalt paving.
He said seven footbridges were at various stages of construction, while two bridges on the urban highway section had been completed. Two of the three interchanges were also substantially complete.
The Deputy Managing Director for Investment at the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF),Bennett Akantoa, described the launch of the ATEL website as a significant milestone that will improve public access to information on the Accra-Tema Motorway and Extensions Project.
He said the initiative would promote transparency, build public trust and provide updates on the progress of the road construction project.
Mr Akantoa said the Accra-Tema Motorway had historically served as a vital link between Accra, the national capital, and Tema, the country's industrial hub and port city.
He noted that the motorway was originally constructed to facilitate the movement of people and cargo between the two cities but that changing transportation demands had made reconstruction necessary.
He said the ongoing project aligned with President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of improving road infrastructure across the country.
Mr Akantoa said the website would provide a platform for the media and social media users to communicate developments on the project more effectively.
He observed that some members of the public had expressed concern about the duration of construction and why the road had not yet been completed.
He expressed the hope that regular updates on the website would help address such concerns and enable the public to better understand the progress of work.
Funding
Senior Partner of AB and David Africa and a member of the project’s Independent Project Advisory team, Mr David Ofosu-Dorte,
said the project had undergone several financing and procurement processes since 2019 before the current PPP arrangement was established.
He said earlier assessments had identified a funding viability gap of nearly US$100 million, while the cancellation of road tolls in November 2021 had affected investor confidence.
Mr Ofosu-Dorte said the project was subsequently phased to enable the first section to be developed and establish a basis for financing subsequent sections.
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