Ghana’s parliament has approved a 20-year public-private partnership for the reintroduction of road and bridge tolling through a nationwide electronic collection system.

The agreement is between the Ministry of Roads and Highways and a special-purpose vehicle to be incorporated by Rock Africa Limited. It establishes a framework for the financing, design, construction, operation, maintenance and eventual transfer of the new system. The proposed network will cover 66 tolling locations across 13 corridors, comprising 38 existing sites and 28 new strategic locations.

The concession provides for three years of design and construction followed by 17 years of operation and maintenance. All project assets will be transferred to the Ghanaian government when the concession expires. Under the agreed revenue-sharing arrangement, the government will receive 70% of gross toll revenue, with the concessionaire retaining 30% to meet its capital and operating costs.

The system is expected to use barrier-free, multi-lane electronic tolling to avoid the congestion previously associated with Ghana’s manual toll booths. Ghana suspended road-toll collection in November 2021. The government expects the new arrangement to restore a dedicated source of road-maintenance funding while reducing revenue leakage and improving transparency.

Supporting the agreement during the parliamentary debate, Bimbilla MP Dominic Nitiwul said: “The road tolls are electronic and it is 20 years, I think it is good for us to support it.” Detailed tariffs and a phased implementation timetable have not yet been published. The Ministry of Roads and Highways is expected to provide further information before charging resumes.