The Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) has announced plans to establish a car mall for vehicle dealers while evacuating unauthorised roadside garages across the region.

The move follows the takeover of several government lands by car dealers, a situation the Council says is undermining city beautification efforts.

Ashanti Regional Minister, Frank Amoakohene, said the ARCC must take decisive action to restore order and improve the region’s urban landscape.

“We came to meet the spaces at Sofoline Interchange, taken over by filth. We cleared it, and the garages sprang up immediately. It can’t be allowed to continue,” he said.

Addressing participants at the Ashanti Expo 2026, the Regional Minister explained that the proposal to establish a car mall originated from the Urban Roads Department.

“The Urban Roads Department has proposed that we open a car mall for all those interested in trading cars. This will allow us to start clearing all the garages at unapproved spaces,” he stated.

According to the Council, construction of the car mall will be prioritised to provide an alternative location for dealers before unauthorised garages are removed.

Several intersections and vantage points across Kumasi have become known for informal garages in recent years. A recent attempt to clear garages along the Ahodwo–Santasi route to allow for road expansion resulted in tensions between city authorities and garage operators.

Mr Amoakohene said restoring Kumasi’s reputation as the Garden City would be a gradual process requiring consistent effort.

“Rome was not built in a day. If we want to restore the Garden City, we can do so if we start today. If Nananom realise that we have begun evacuating the garages, they will know we are making progress,” he added.

Touching on infrastructure projects, the Regional Minister disclosed that the government has settled outstanding debts owed to contractors working on the Suame Interchange Project, paving the way for construction to resume.

He further noted that to ease congestion within the city centre, the government is constructing an outer ring road to divert heavy-duty vehicles and goods in transit away from the city.

“The big push will concentrate on an outer Kumasi bypass which will run through Kwabre East to Offinso, so goods in transit won’t pass through Kumasi,” he added.