The Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwame Agbodza, says the government is determined to complete all ongoing Big Push infrastructure projects by the close of 2027.
According to him, the ministry has no doubts about meeting the 2027 timeline as there is funding for the projects.
He made the commitment during an exclusive interview on TV3, monitored by NewsDesksGH on November 19.
“I’m not hoping, we are determined to complete this project by the close of 2027,” he said.
“We know with the help of the Ghanaian contractors and everybody, we’re going to do this.”
The Minister explained that financial factors often delay such projects, saying that the government is well prepared.
“Simply because we know for sure that one of the reasons projects go beyond their contractual period is the issue of unreliable payment and other things,” he noted.
He referenced the allocation of funds for the project in the Budget which was recently revealed by the Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
“As the Finance Minister said in the 2025 budget, he set aside over 13 billion Ghana cedis to start that project. In the 2026 budget we’re setting aside additional 30 billion. So we already have over 40 billion.”
Hon. Agbodza also disclosed that his ministry has not yet received contractor certificates for this year because many recently began work on their respective sites.
However, he expects that to change soon as some contractors have already completed about 30 percent of specific projects, and certificates from them are expected within the next month.
He stressed that the Big Push initiative is fully financed and therefore safe from the usual challenges that slow down national infrastructure works.
“So it’s fully funded and that’s why we believe that we’ll be able to deliver this project on time,” he said.
To prevent unnecessary cost escalations, the Minister emphasised that unauthorized changes will not be entertained.
“We are not intending to make this project about the usual concerns of ‘we couldn’t finish because we’ve changed the scope or variation,’ there will be no unauthorized variations on this project,” he said.
He added that variations may only be considered if they fall strictly within the approved scope of work.
Hon. Agbodza also highlighted the importance of awarding the Big Push works to Ghanaian firms.
“This is a homegrown situation and the value must remain here,” he said.
“Once the Ghanaian is at the centre of it, the value, dividends and everything remains here. It spears growth in almost every sector. Banking, supply chain, the job sector and everything.”
He further projected that the initiative will be a source of many jobs in the country.
“The Big Push alone should generate close to 500,000 jobs within the period of which we are doing this construction,” he stated.
“It’s not merely a road project, it’s a growth pole subset of the President’s 24-hour economy policy,” he said.
The Big Push is the President Mahama government’s national infrastructure expansion programme, designed to address Ghana’s infrastructure deficit.
