Ghana’s roads, health and railway infrastructure have received the lowest rating in the Ghana Infrastructure Report Card 2026, highlighting persistent funding and maintenance challenges.

The three sectors each scored 50 per cent, equivalent to Grade E, while aviation emerged as the best-performing sector with 71 per cent (Grade C3). Electricity infrastructure recorded a slight improvement but remained in Grade D.

The Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), which produced the report, said at its launch in Accra on Tuesday that inadequate funding continued to undermine infrastructure development and maintenance across the sectors assessed.

The report evaluated infrastructure in the education, electricity, roads and bridges, railway, telecommunications, potable water, health and aviation sectors using responses from 900 participants.

The findings were compared with those of the inaugural report published in 2016.

Speaking at the launch, Madam Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, Deputy Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, said infrastructure planning must place greater emphasis on resilience to climate change, rapid urbanisation, population growth and other emerging challenges.

“Today, infrastructure can no longer be judged merely by its physical condition or capacity. It must also be evaluated by its ability to withstand shocks, recover quickly from disasters, adapt to the changing environmental conditions and continue providing essential services to citizens,” she said.

Madam Tetteh-Agbotui urged professionals to adopt emerging technologies and sustainable construction practices to improve infrastructure planning, design, construction and management.

She said Government would continue to promote innovation, research and collaboration among academia, the private sector, professional institutions and development partners to improve infrastructure delivery.

“Infrastructure is not merely about concrete, steel and asphalt. It’s about people. It’s about creating opportunities for businesses…it’s about hospitals that remain functional during emergencies.

“It’s about providing safe drinking water, decent housing and reliable public services…the government alone cannot build the resilient infrastructure that Ghana requires,” she said.

Mr Luwig Annang Hesse, President of GhIE, called for the implementation of the Public Investment Management Regulations and the Public Investment Plan to improve road infrastructure.

“Urgent measures must be taken to reduce road deaths, addressing critical rising safety limits for Okada operations… all major road projects must be supported by feasibility studies, engineering design, detailed costing by qualified consultants and subjected peer and stakeholder review,” he said.

Mr Hesse urged public institutions to implement the report’s recommendations, noting that the Infrastructure Report Card would be published every three years.

Dr Patrick Bekoe, Vice-President of GhIE, said the assessment was based on indicators including capacity, condition, funding, future needs, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience and innovation.

He said the aviation sector’s performance demonstrated the importance of sustained investment in the operation and maintenance of public infrastructure.