President John Dramani Mahama has set the end of 2027 as the target for completing the long-delayed Wa-Han road, assuring residents of the Upper West and Upper East regions that the project will finally provide a reliable link between the two regions.
President Mahama gave the assurance during an inspection of ongoing works on the road under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme as part of his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper West Region.
He said the Wa-Han road was prioritised because it connects regional capitals, making it an important route for transportation and economic activity between the Upper West and Upper East regions.
“When we’re doing the selection of the Big Push projects, we prioritise roads that link regional capitals. And this is one of the roads that links the Upper East regional capital with the Upper West region. So it’s a very important road indeed,” he said.
The President acknowledged the prolonged deterioration of the road, saying its condition over the years had caused many residents to lose confidence that the project would ever be completed.
He, however, expressed optimism that the pace of work would allow government to deliver a significantly improved road within the projected timeframe.
“I believe that today we can see that in just some months, that is before the end of 2027, we will have a very comfortable ride between the two regional capitals,” he said.
President Mahama also praised the contractor working on the project, describing the company as one of Ghana’s oldest construction firms with considerable experience in road development.
Big Push to be implemented in phases
The President said government had identified several other roads for construction and rehabilitation in the Upper West Region but acknowledged that financial constraints made it impossible to execute all projects at the same time.
“I just want to assure people, everybody thinks that we can do all their roads at once. We cannot do that. There’s a limit to the budget that we have,” he said.
He explained that the Big Push programme would therefore be implemented in phases, with government first concentrating on major trunk roads before progressively turning attention to feeder roads.
“So this Big Push Phase One, we’re scoping Big Push Phase Two, and there’ll be a Big Push Phase Three,” President Mahama stated.
He said the completion of major road networks would subsequently allow government to intensify investment in feeder roads, improving connectivity between communities and the main transport corridors.
The Wa-Han road is expected to strengthen connectivity between the northern regions and improve the movement of people, goods and services once completed.
