The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agboza, has said the government is committing a significant portion of the US$10 billion Big Push Programme to improving Ghana’s road network.

He said the investment would focus particularly on rehabilitating and upgrading key road corridors linking major economic and trade centres.

His comments follow a report by the World Bank indicating that only 27% of Ghana’s 94,200-kilometre road network is paved.

“Government recognizes that a significant portion of Ghana’s road network remains unpaved and in poor condition, largely due to inadequate funding for maintenance and rehabilitation over the years,” the Minister wrote in a social media post on Thursday, August 27.

According to him, inadequate funding over the years has contributed significantly to the poor state of the country’s road infrastructure.

He said President John Dramani Mahama had therefore committed a substantial share of the Big Push Programme to addressing the infrastructure deficit.

The Adaklu lawmaker said the investment would help improve connectivity between major economic and trade centres while reducing the cost and time involved in transporting people and goods.

“This investment will improve connectivity, reduce travel times and transport costs, and support sustainable economic development,” he added.

The Minister said the government’s intervention formed part of efforts to address longstanding challenges in road maintenance and rehabilitation.