- GH¢3.40 billion Infrastructure Injection Boosts Contractor Confidence, But Arrears Remain Concern
Ghana’s construction industry has welcomed the government’s latest infrastructure funding commitments, describing the release of fresh resources for road maintenance and major transport projects as a confidence-building step for contractors after years of delayed payments and uncertainty over certified works.
The endorsement follows Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson’s 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, in which he announced that GH¢1.70 billion had been transferred to the Road Maintenance Trust Fund to support road works across the country. The government also disclosed that a further GH¢1.70 billion had been lodged in a dedicated account at the Bank of Ghana for the planned Accra–Kumasi Expressway, one of the country’s most strategically important transport infrastructure projects.
For the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, the advance provisioning of funds before full project execution signals a departure from a long-standing practice in which contractors frequently undertook works without clear certainty over the timing of payment.
That old model created a heavy burden for the construction sector. Contractors often had to pre-finance public projects, borrow from banks at high interest rates, absorb payment delays and carry unpaid certificates for extended periods. The result was a cycle of arrears, stalled projects, rising claims and weakened confidence in public-sector contracting.
Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Cherry said the government’s initial disbursement was encouraging and represented meaningful progress toward reducing the stock of unpaid certificates owed to contractors.
“GH¢1.70 billion out of more than GH¢3.00 billion is not bad at this stage of the year,” he said, expressing optimism that a substantial portion of outstanding contractor debt could be settled before the end of the year.
His comments reflect cautious relief within an industry that remains highly sensitive to government payment behaviour. Construction firms depend heavily on predictable cash flow, especially when executing road, drainage, school, health, housing and public infrastructure projects. When certificates are delayed, the financial consequences spread across the entire value chain — from banks and equipment suppliers to quarry operators, transporters, artisans and labourers.
But the Chamber’s optimism was accompanied by a warning. Mr Cherry cautioned that the pace of payment remains critical because every month of delay increases government’s eventual liability through accumulating interest on unpaid certificates.
“The longer the payments are delayed, the larger the debt portfolio becomes because interest on delayed payments keeps accumulating,” he said.
That warning goes to the heart of Ghana’s infrastructure-financing problem. Arrears are not static obligations. Once certified works remain unpaid, contractors may incur bank interest, foreign-exchange losses on imported inputs, equipment financing costs and contractual claims. Over time, a payment delay that begins as a cash-flow problem can become a larger fiscal exposure for the state.
For a government trying to maintain fiscal discipline, contractor arrears therefore carry a double risk. They weaken private-sector confidence in public procurement, and they can also undermine budget credibility if unpaid claims accumulate outside the normal expenditure framework.
The Chamber also pushed back against claims by the Minority in Parliament that contractors have abandoned project sites because of persistent non-payment. According to Mr Cherry, that assertion does not reflect the realities within the sector, particularly after the government’s recent budgetary commitments.
He argued that the Mid-Year Budget Review provides sufficient assurance that resources have been earmarked for priority infrastructure projects and that contractors have reason to remain engaged as payments and project implementation proceed.
Mr Cherry similarly dismissed suggestions that contractors working under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme are being inadequately funded. He said the existence of dedicated allocations gives contractors confidence that certified works will be financed as execution advances.
The construction industry’s position is politically and economically significant. Infrastructure spending is expected to play a central role in the government’s growth strategy, with road development, transport connectivity and public works positioned as key enablers of private-sector activity, regional trade and job creation.
The Accra–Kumasi Expressway, in particular, is expected to become one of Ghana’s most important road projects because of the commercial weight of the corridor. The route connects the country’s two largest economic centres and serves as a major artery for passenger movement, freight transport, agricultural trade and business logistics.
If executed effectively, the project could reduce travel time, improve road safety, cut vehicle operating costs and strengthen the movement of goods between the southern and middle belts of the country.
The Road Maintenance Trust Fund allocation is also important because road deterioration remains one of the major complaints from businesses and transport operators. Poor roads increase logistics costs, damage vehicles, slow distribution and reduce the competitiveness of firms that depend on reliable transport networks.
However, the credibility of the government’s infrastructure agenda will ultimately depend on implementation. Budgetary announcements can restore sentiment, but contractors, lenders and suppliers will judge the state by actual payment discipline, transparent certification, timely disbursement and consistency in project execution.
For investors and market participants, the key issue is not only how much money has been announced, but whether the funds translate into measurable progress on the ground without creating new arrears.
The government’s challenge is therefore to balance ambition with discipline. Infrastructure spending can support growth, but only if it is properly financed, efficiently procured and transparently executed. If new projects are launched without timely payment systems, the sector could return to the same arrears cycle that has weakened contractor confidence in the past.
For the construction industry, the latest GH¢3.40 billion funding signal offers cautious optimism. It suggests that government recognises the need to restore confidence, settle obligations and provide clearer financing for priority projects.
But the Chamber’s warning remains important. Contractor arrears do not disappear with announcements. They are resolved through sustained payment, credible verification and disciplined budget execution.
The fresh infrastructure injection may have lifted confidence, but the true test will be whether government can prevent today’s commitments from becoming tomorrow’s arrears.
