The World Bank has identified Ghana’s transport sector as a major constraint to economic growth, competitiveness and job creation, citing significant gaps in road and rail infrastructure and weaknesses in sector management.

World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Robert R. Taliercio, said the challenges were limiting economic opportunities and restricting access to markets.

He was speaking in Accra at the launch of the World Bank’s Tenth Ghana Economic Update.

“This is not just an infrastructure story. It’s a growth story, competitiveness story, and a job story. The sector is functioning well below its potential, unfortunately,” he said.

Mr Taliercio said Ghana’s road network, which stretches about 94,200 kilometres, faces significant infrastructure and maintenance challenges.

He also noted the substantial decline in the country’s rail network over the years, limiting its potential to support the movement of people and freight.

According to him, the physical infrastructure challenges are compounded by fragmented institutional responsibilities within the transport sector.

“Compounding these physical gaps, the sector suffers from fragmented institutional responsibility that hinders effective coordination and planning and execution of programmes,” he said.

The World Bank has identified six priority areas it believes could help transform Ghana’s transport sector.

They include the operationalisation of the Road Maintenance Trust Fund and the development of a unified national transport sector strategy.

The Bank is also calling for freight-led rail revitalisation along Ghana’s western and eastern corridors, while urging authorities to treat road safety as a fiscal and public health emergency.

The remaining priorities are to incorporate climate-resilient design standards into major infrastructure investments and extend Ghana’s Digital Single Window to Takoradi and inland terminals.

Mr Taliercio said the World Bank was supporting Ghana’s efforts through the $500 million Ghana Market Access and Connectivity Project.

The project is expected to finance the rehabilitation of about 1,050 kilometres of feeder roads, improving connectivity between communities, markets and economic centres.

He stressed, however, that investment in new infrastructure must be accompanied by effective maintenance and institutional reforms.

“Building roads without maintaining them simply accelerates the cycle of degradation that we are all trying to break,” he said.

The World Bank's assessment places transport infrastructure and management at the centre of Ghana’s broader economic transformation efforts, with improved connectivity expected to enhance market access, productivity and opportunities for businesses and communities.