en.Wedoany.com Reported - The World Bank approved $500 million in financing on May 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C., for the implementation of the Ghana Market Access and Connectivity Project (GMACP) in Ghana. The five-year project, executed by Ghana's Ministry of Roads and Highways, aims to improve road conditions on over 1,000 kilometers of feeder roads in rural areas, enhance all-season connectivity between major agricultural production zones and urban markets, and is expected to directly benefit more than 550,000 rural residents.
Ghana, located in West Africa, is a major producer of cocoa and various food crops. For a long time, poor road conditions and inadequate maintenance have constrained rural economic development, manifesting in limited market access, high transportation costs, and significant post-harvest losses of agricultural products. The Ministry of Roads and Highways is the national authority responsible for the planning, construction, and maintenance of roads. Its subsidiary, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), established in 1974, manages and maintains approximately 13,367 kilometers of the country's trunk road network, accounting for about 33% of the total network. According to the budget approved by the Parliament of Ghana in late 2025, the allocation for the Ministry of Roads and Highways for the 2026 fiscal year exceeds 5.3 billion Ghanaian cedis (GHS), of which approximately 9.1 billion GHS is expected from development partners.
The GMACP project will support the rehabilitation and maintenance of key feeder roads, covering four corridor zones across nine regions: Upper West, Northern, Savannah, Oti, Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Bono, and Western. These regions are the main production areas for Ghana's staple food crops, including maize, rice, yam, and cassava, and are crucial for ensuring national food security. Robert Taliercio, Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone at the World Bank, stated that the project will improve rural communities' access to markets and opportunities while enhancing the competitiveness and resilience of Ghana's agriculture. The project is expected to directly benefit over 550,000 people, including approximately 350,000 farmers, 250,000 women, and 310,000 youth, and create about 25,000 short-term direct jobs through engineering and road maintenance activities. Additionally, the project will ensure road sustainability by operating a road maintenance trust fund, introducing performance-based maintenance contracts, and incorporating climate-resilient designs.
This project is a key component of the Ghanaian government's efforts in 2026 to modernize and upgrade the national road network. Previously, the Ministry of Roads and Highways stated that most road projects for the year had already awarded contracts to contractors. As one of the largest rural road investments in Ghana's history, the implementation of this project is expected to significantly reduce transportation costs for agricultural products, minimize post-harvest losses, and provide infrastructure support for long-term economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas.
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