Parliament approves return of electronic road tolls
Parliament has approved a concession agreement to reintroduce road and bridge tolls in Ghana through a public-private partnership.
The agreement establishes the legal and commercial framework for financing, designing, constructing, operating, maintaining and eventually transferring a nationwide electronic toll collection system.
The initiative is intended to modernise toll collection using internationally recognised electronic technology, create a sustainable source of funding for road maintenance, improve efficiency, minimise revenue losses and strengthen transparency in toll administration.
The agreement is between the Ministry of Roads and Highways, acting on behalf of the Government of Ghana, and a special purpose vehicle to be established by Rock Africa Limited.
Under the arrangement, Rock Africa Limited will mobilise private investment to develop and operate the electronic tolling system.
The project will cover 66 tolling points across 13 operational corridors, including 38 existing toll booths and 28 newly designated strategic locations.
Revenue generated from the system will be shared, with the Government of Ghana receiving 70 per cent and the concessionaire taking the remaining 30 per cent.
The concession will run for 20 years, consisting of a three-year design and construction phase followed by 17 years of operation and maintenance.
At the end of the concession period, ownership of all project assets will be transferred to the Government of Ghana in line with the terms of the agreement.
The concession agreement was laid before Parliament on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources on behalf of the Minister for Roads and Highways before being referred to the Roads and Transportation Committee for consideration.
Parliament approved the agreement after the committee’s chairman, Isaac Adjei Mensah, presented its report and recommended its adoption.
Seconding the motion, the committee’s Ranking Member, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, said the committee concluded that restoring road and bridge tolls would generate additional revenue for the Road Fund to finance maintenance works.
He recalled that the previous administration suspended toll collection in 2022 to allow time to redesign the system and expand toll operations nationwide.
According to him, Cabinet had already approved a roadmap for reintroducing road tolls before the previous government left office.
“I am pleased that the current government has continued with the previous Cabinet’s decision to restore road tolls,” he said.
Also contributing to the debate, Bimbilla MP Dominic Nitiwul urged Parliament to approve the agreement but explained that the former government removed road tolls to avoid imposing both the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) and road tolls on Ghanaians simultaneously.
He said the decision at the time was based on projections that the E-Levy would generate significantly more revenue than road tolls, which were bringing in less than GH¢100 million annually.
Nitiwul, however, welcomed the return of tolls under an electronic system, saying it would improve convenience for motorists and reduce congestion at toll points.
He added that the proposed 20-year electronic tolling arrangement was worth supporting if it delivered efficient and hassle-free services for road users.
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