Ghana risks losing potential cargo transport business to Côte d’Ivoire and Togo due to poor road conditions, despite having competitive ports, the World Bank has warned.
The World Bank’s 10th Ghana Economic Update estimates that transporting a 40-foot container from Tema to Ouagadougou costs between US$2,500 and US$3,500, with the journey taking anywhere from four days to two weeks, largely due to poor road conditions and disruptions along the route.
“Moving a 40-foot container from Tema to Ouagadougou costs roughly US$2,500–3,500 and can take 4–14 days, depending on road conditions and checkpoint delays,” the report stated.
Ghana competes directly with Côte d’Ivoire’s Abidjan and Togo’s Lomé ports for transit trade to Burkina Faso and Mali.
However, the challenge is not primarily at Tema Port.
The US$1.5 billion Terminal 3 expansion increased container-handling capacity from 800,000 to 3.7 million TEUs, while customs reforms have reduced container turnaround time to about three days.
The major challenge is the 818-kilometre Tema-Paga corridor, Ghana’s main road link to Burkina Faso.
The report noted that about 35% of the country’s transit routes were in fair to poor condition as of 2017, with overloaded trucks further worsening the damage.
“As of 2017, out of the 2,606 km of transit route, about 35 percent were in fair to poor condition. Even though the number is low, it still represents a significant gap in international transit and logistics,” the report stated.
Ghana’s road maintenance funding is also falling short of requirements. The Road Fund covered only 37% of maintenance needs in 2024, compared with a target of 65%.
The World Bank estimates that Ghana’s trunk roads require about US$685 million annually for maintenance.
Transit cargo through Tema increased from 116,000 metric tonnes in 2001 to more than 1.4 million tonnes in 2020.
However, the report warns that without improved road infrastructure and reliable maintenance funding, Ghana risks losing more of its growing regional transit trade to Abidjan and Lomé.
Ghana has invested heavily in expanding its port capacity, but the World Bank’s assessment highlights the need to improve the road network connecting the port to landlocked markets.