Ghana to Reintroduce Road Tolls Under New 20-Year PPP Deal
Parliament has approved a 20-year Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession agreement to restore road and bridge tolling across Ghana through a fully electronic, barrier-free toll collection system.
The agreement will see the government partner with Rock Africa Limited to finance, develop and operate a nationwide multi-lane free-flow tolling network, marking the formal return of road tolling after the suspension of manual collections in 2021.
Lawmakers said the reintroduction of tolls is intended to restore a critical source of funding for road maintenance and infrastructure development, following concerns that the suspension significantly reduced revenue available to the sector.
Under the concession, the government will receive 70% of gross toll revenues, while Rock Africa Limited will retain the remaining 30% to recover capital investment and operational costs.
The concession will run for 20 years, with the initial three years devoted to the design, engineering and installation of the electronic tolling infrastructure. The system will then be operated for 17 years before being transferred back to the government at the end of the agreement.
According to the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the new platform will replace traditional toll booths with a fully digital, free-flow system designed to eliminate traffic congestion associated with manual toll collection.
The network will span 13 major transport corridors, upgrading 38 existing toll locations while introducing 28 new tolling points nationwide. Vehicles will be identified electronically, with payments processed automatically through linked Mobile Money (MoMo) wallets, bank accounts or Ghana Cards.
Minister for Roads and Highways Kwame Governs Agbodza assured Parliament that tolls would only be charged on completed roads that meet the required quality standards.
The agreement received broad bipartisan backing in Parliament, with Members of Parliament describing the electronic tolling model as a more efficient and transparent mechanism that would minimise revenue leakages while improving funding for road infrastructure.
The Ministry of Roads and Highways is expected to announce the tariff structure and implementation timetable in the coming months.
