Former Trade and Industry Minister and United Party (UP) leader Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen is advocating private-sector financing for the proposed US$4 billion Accra-Kumasi Expressway, arguing that government resources could be freed up for other infrastructure needs.

Mr Kyerematen said commercially viable infrastructure projects such as the expressway should be structured to attract private capital, particularly where investors can recover their investment through toll revenues.

Speaking at a public lecture at the British Council in Accra on the theme, “Transformation of the Ghanaian Economy: From Stability to Prosperity,” he questioned the decision to use public funds to finance the entire project.

“You are using four billion dollars to finance a commercial road, which currently can be financed by the private sector. What happens in every country? Once the toll road is constructed, you don’t use government resources to fund it. It can pay for itself,” he said.

He argued that the government could instead allow private investors to finance, construct and operate the road under an arrangement that would enable them to recover their investment over an agreed period.

“We need to commend the government for at least thinking about public-private partnerships between our two actors, because it doesn’t make sense that for over 60 years we continue to rely on government resources to finance everything,” he said.

Mr Kyerematen said the principle should extend beyond the expressway to other infrastructure projects capable of generating revenue.

“Once the road is constructed, you don’t use government resources to fund it if it can pay for itself. Let the private sector manage that. Can you imagine what we can do with our public resources if we free them up?” he asked.

He said such an approach could release government resources for other pressing infrastructure needs, including roads within communities across the country.

The proposal comes as the government prepares to commence construction of the 175.6-kilometre expressway after the clearing of its right-of-way.

President John Dramani Mahama announced on September 14 that US$2 billion had been secured for the project and placed in a dedicated account at the Bank of Ghana. He said the money was sourced from taxpayers and that the project would not be financed through borrowing.

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson had earlier said US$1.7 billion had been secured and that the government expected the full funding requirement to be available by the end of 2026, also without borrowing.

The government's current model also envisages the expressway generating revenue after completion.

The Chief Executive Officer of Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, Francis Ahlidza, has said the road will be operated as a commercial asset to enable government to recover the taxpayers’ investment within the concession period.

He said the government established Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited as a special-purpose company to oversee the development, construction and maintenance of the road.

Mr Ahlidza has also said economic analysis is being undertaken with the expectation that the investment could be recovered over a 50-year period, while generating additional revenue for expansion of the road network.

Mr Kyerematen’s proposal therefore centres on whether that commercial potential should be used to attract private capital from the outset rather than requiring the state to provide the initial financing.

He said greater use of private capital should form part of a broader economic transformation strategy in which government creates the policy and regulatory environment while commercially viable projects attract private investment.