Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has said that new roads to be constructed by the government in partnership with investors will be tolled.
Delivering the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana and Supplementary Estimate for the 2022 Financial Year in Parliament, the Finance Minister said the roads, most of which will be by a public-private partnership (PPP), will have users paying while travelling on them to recover costs.
He emphasised that the new projects must be “self-financing” and that can only be attained if the roads are tolled.
Mr Ofori-Atta minced no words by indicating that the tolls will also be used to pay contractors and provide equity for investors.
Tolls on the country’s public roads were abolished in the 2022 budget statement and the government’s financial policy was presented on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.
Mr Ofori-Atta had told Parliament then that the decision was taken as a result of heavy traffic, sprawling markets and pollution around the tollbooths.
“It is true that more roads have been fixed and are being fixed over the last five years than any relative period in the entire history of our nation. We even want to do a lot more and this budget will cater for
this.
“That is why for decades, Government after Government imposed and maintained tolls on some public roads to raise funds for road construction and maintenance
