Ghana plans 2.7km Abidjan-Lagos tunnel

Keypoints:

Ghana plans a 2.7km mountain tunnel
New highway will largely bypass existing N1
Financing and detailed-design work continue

GHANA is planning a 2.7km tunnel through the Akuapem range as part of its section of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway, a vast regional road project designed to change how people and goods move between five West African countries.

The tunnel is significant because the proposed highway will not simply widen or follow the familiar N1 through Kasoa, Weija, Accra and Tema. Much of Ghana’s section is planned on a new alignment that would take long-distance traffic around heavily congested urban roads before crossing the Akuapem range.

If built as planned, project officials say the tunnel would be Ghana’s first mountain road tunnel. It remains at the planning and investment stage, however, with no publicly announced construction start date.

Tunnel backed by ECOWAS

The tunnel has been part of the regional highway plan for several years.

In March 2023, ECOWAS road ministers endorsed the proposed tunnel on the Accra bypass while reviewing the project’s technical studies, financing and right-of-way requirements.

Ghanaian project officials later said the proposed tunnel would run for about 2.7km from the Ga East area of Greater Accra towards Berekusu in the Eastern Region. They described it as the country’s first planned mountain tunnel.

The proposal would allow the highway to pass through the Akuapem range rather than forcing regional traffic over the existing steep road network.

Highway will skirt central Accra

The wider Ghana alignment is just as important as the tunnel itself.

Project officials say the highway will largely follow a greenfield route. Travelling eastwards, it is expected to bypass Accra from around 15km east of Winneba, cross the Akuapem range and continue towards Miotso before running through the Volta Region to Akanu on the Togo border.

To the west, the corridor will connect Ghana with Cote d’Ivoire through Elubo.

The approach is intended to create a high-capacity regional road that allows through-traffic to avoid some of southern Ghana’s most persistent congestion.

Africa Briefing has previously reported that the $15bn Abidjan-Lagos Highway is moving closer to construction as the new supranational corridor authority steps up financing and implementation work.

Ghana takes longest stretch

The African Development Bank currently puts Ghana’s section of the 1,028km highway at about 520km, the longest stretch among the five participating countries.

The road will link Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, connecting Abidjan, Accra, Lomé, Cotonou and Lagos along one of West Africa’s busiest economic corridors.

Earlier Ghanaian project briefings gave the country’s section as 576km. More recent AfDB figures use 520km, and no official explanation for the difference has been published.

About 32 Ghanaian communities have also been identified for stakeholder engagement as officials deal with land acquisition and other preparations along the route.

Financing push gathers pace

The wider highway entered a new phase in 2026.

The AfDB said in April that feasibility studies had been completed and the project had entered its investment phase, with the Bank, ECOWAS and participating governments working to mobilise financing for construction, operation and maintenance.

That followed years of technical work on the corridor and the creation of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Management Authority, which will oversee the highway as a single cross-border asset.

Africa Briefing has also tracked ECOWAS and AfDB efforts to push the highway towards implementation as financing and institutional arrangements take shape.

Work remains before construction

Despite that progress, significant work remains before the tunnel or wider Ghana section moves into full construction.

On September 24, Ghana’s Roads Ministry said discussions with the corridor authority were still focused on resource mobilisation, detailed designs, land acquisition, valuation and compensation for people affected by the project.

That makes it too early to describe tunnel construction as imminent.

What is clear is that the proposed Akuapem tunnel remains part of one of West Africa’s most ambitious transport projects. If delivered, the highway would give Ghana a new east-west transport spine while providing regional traffic with an alternative to the congested roads that currently carry much of the country’s coastal traffic.