The Ghanaian government says firms seeking to deliver the Accra-Kumasi Expressway must demonstrate strong financial and technical capacity before they can progress through the procurement process. Roads and Highways Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza said the process would be rigorous, transparent and competitive, with proven experience on projects of similar scale and complexity among the central considerations.
Pre-qualification will screen capability first
The project will use international competitive pre-qualification, a mechanism that allows a procuring authority to assess prospective firms against capability requirements before moving to the later stages of selecting a delivery partner. For this expressway, the government says those requirements will include financial strength, technical expertise and experience on projects with comparable scale and complexity. The stated purpose is to attract firms able to meet demanding standards and to protect quality, value for money and timely delivery. The minister described each of those principles as non-negotiable, while also saying the process would remain transparent and competitive. The announcement does not identify the firms that may participate or say which companies have passed any assessment.
An SPV will provide the project’s institutional home
The government has established the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Special Purpose Vehicle to drive development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance. An SPV is a dedicated entity created to give a major project a defined institutional home, with responsibility and accountability arranged around that undertaking rather than dispersed across separate activities. Agbodza said this structure would support professional and long-term management of the expressway. The minister was speaking at a ceremony to hand over the right of way at Kwaso in the Ejisu Municipality for preparatory works. He also acknowledged the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, sector agencies and communities, whose cooperation he said would be essential to implementation.
The corridor is intended as a network solution
The proposed expressway is designed to improve mobility between Accra and Kumasi, Ghana’s two largest urban and economic centres, while reducing travel time and logistics costs. Agbodza said population growth, freight and commercial activity had placed increasing pressure on the corridor, making a long-term network solution necessary rather than relying only on patching and incremental widening of the existing N6. The planned road would provide controlled-access, high-speed intercity movement, separate through traffic from local traffic and create greater redundancy in the national network. It would also be integrated with the wider road system, including the emerging Kumasi Outer Ring Road, to improve connectivity.
Local participation is part of the stated objective
The government says the procurement should combine demanding standards with opportunities for Ghanaian participation. Agbodza identified engineers, contractors, consultants, suppliers, artisans and young professionals as potential beneficiaries of the project’s activity, while stressing that technical, financial and safety standards would remain in place. He said the intended outcomes included skills transfer, technology transfer and meaningful involvement by local businesses. The expressway forms part of President John Dramani Mahama’s infrastructure agenda under the Big Push, which the minister said aims to invest in infrastructure capable of unlocking economic activity. The corridor is also expected to connect production centres to markets, support the 24-hour economy, create jobs and improve national productivity.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Project | Accra-Kumasi Expressway |
| Procurement route | International competitive pre-qualification |
| Required capability | Strong financial and technical capacity |
| Relevant experience | Projects of similar scale and complexity |
| Project vehicle | Accra-Kumasi Expressway Special Purpose Vehicle |
| Preparatory works location | Kwaso in the Ejisu Municipality |
| Existing road under pressure | N6 |
“We want skills transfer, technology transfer and meaningful participation by local businesses while maintaining the technical, financial and safety standards demanded by a project of this magnitude.”
WHY IT MATTERS
For firms considering major public infrastructure work, the announcement signals that eligibility will turn on demonstrable financial capacity, technical expertise and comparable delivery experience. Pre-qualification is intended to narrow participation to firms able to meet the stated requirements before the procurement advances, while the government says competition and transparency will be maintained. Local businesses are expected to have opportunities through participation, skills transfer and technology transfer, subject to the project’s technical, financial and safety standards.
Reported from myjoyonline.com, 2026-09-14. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
