By Valentia Tetteh
The Ashanti Caucus in Parliament has called on the government to restore the original four-tier design of the Suame Interchange project, describing plans to scale it down to a two-tier configuration as a disservice to residents of Kumasi and the wider Ashanti Region.
Addressing journalists in Parliament on Monday, February 9, 2026, the former Minister for Roads and Highways and Member of Parliament for Bantama, Francis Asenso-Boakye, said the decision by the current Roads and Highways Minister to reduce the scope of the project, citing debt constraints and contractor drawdown challenges, was “deeply concerning, technically unsound and unfair”.
He explained that the Suame Interchange was initiated under the administration of former President Nana Akufo-Addo to address worsening traffic congestion in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city and a major national transport hub linking the south to the north and the east to the west.
According to Mr Asenso-Boakye, Parliament in July 2022 approved the commercial and loan agreements for the design and construction of the interchange and related works, with financing backed by an export credit guarantee to ensure the project’s technical viability and bankability.
He noted that the original four-tier design resulted from extensive traffic modelling, engineering studies and long-term urban planning.
“Reducing the Suame Interchange from a four-tier to a two-tier design fundamentally undermines the integrity of the project,” he said. “A two-tier solution will not eliminate traffic conflict points in Kumasi. It will simply shift congestion from one junction to another, turning the project into an expensive but ineffective bottleneck.”
Mr Asenso-Boakye added that the detailed engineering design for all four tiers had already been completed, warning that altering the configuration would require revisions to approved designs, leading to delays, cost overruns and possible contractual complications.
“In urban transport engineering, doing half a design is often worse than doing nothing at all, because it locks a city into congestion for decades,” he said.
The caucus also questioned the government’s funding priorities, noting that the Finance Minister had indicated that GH¢43 billion had been allocated to road infrastructure this year. Mr Asenso-Boakye asked why a portion of that amount could not be used to complete the Suame Interchange as originally planned if funds were available for other road projects and new contracts.
He further raised concerns about what he described as a pattern of discontinuity in infrastructure delivery, arguing that ongoing high-impact projects should not be sidelined in favour of newly initiated ones.
The Ashanti Caucus therefore urged the government to restore the original four-tier design of the Suame Interchange, re-prioritise funding to ensure its completion as planned, and engage transparently with Parliament and the people of Kumasi on the way forward.
“Kumasi deserves infrastructure that reflects its national importance, not half solutions justified by selective constraints,” Mr Asenso-Boakye said.
