President John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana made significant progress in developing local construction capacity during his first term in office, noting that no Ghanaian construction company met international standards for asphalt road construction before he assumed office.

According to him, by the time he left office in 2016, his administration had helped grow at least 22 Ghanaian construction firms into internationally competitive companies capable of delivering standard asphalt roads.

"By the time I came, only six foreign companies had asphalt plants, and most Ghanaian companies do not do asphalt works. Most of them did double surface dressing, and so we undertook a deliberate strategy to grow Ghanaian construction companies, and by the time I left office, I am proud to note that we have 22 that have the skills like any other foreign company," he said.

Mr Mahama made the remarks on Sunday, 25 January, while speaking at the 23rd anniversary and thanksgiving service of First Sky Construction Company.

"The important point is that First Sky was one of them," he added.

He said the transformation of local firms was the result of deliberate government policies aimed at building indigenous capacity in the construction sector, reducing reliance on foreign contractors and strengthening Ghana’s infrastructure delivery.