Less than half of the roughly GH¢40 billion set aside for Ghana’s Big Push infrastructure programme over two years has been used, the head of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GhCCI) said.
GhCCI chief executive Emmanuel Cherry said local construction firms had been too slow to take up the money, and warned that the shortfall could lead the government to cut the programme’s allocation in 2027. His remarks, at a forum on infrastructure financing in Accra, turned the spotlight on the industry’s own capacity at a time when contractors often blame delayed government payments for slow work.
The government set aside GH¢13.9 billion for the Big Push in 2025, mostly for roads, and about GH¢30 billion for 2026. The 2026 budget said road contracts worth GH¢63 billion had been awarded under the programme.
Work round the clock
Cherry urged firms to speed up delivery by bringing in subcontractors, equipping them properly and working shifts around the clock to meet deadlines. He also called on main contractors to pre-finance their subcontractors, instead of the common practice of waiting for government payment before paying them.
He warned that contractors who “loafed” on Big Push projects would damage the reputation of the whole local industry, and said the Chamber would act against them itself. “We ourselves will go after that contractor,” he said.
Minister wants bigger local firms
Works and Housing Minister Ahmed Ibrahim told the forum that Ghana was entering an important phase of infrastructure development, which should open more work for local contractors and engineers. He said the aim was an industry that could compete both at home and abroad.
He urged firms to build their capacity, form partnerships and deliver work of a standard that would make them the government’s first choice for new contracts. He criticised contractors who win large government jobs but refuse to sublet parts of them to smaller firms, then struggle to finish. Ghanaian contractors, he said, should be seen as firms able to deliver, not merely as a source of labour.
