Parliament approves return of road tolls under 20-year electronic tolling deal
Motorists will no longer stop at toll booths under the new system, which the government says will improve revenue collection, reduce congestion and help fund road infrastructure.
Road and bridge tolls are set to return to Ghana after Parliament approved a 20-year Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession to introduce a nationwide electronic toll collection system.
The agreement between the Ministry of Roads and Highways and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to be established by Rock Africa Limited paves the way for the reintroduction of tolls nearly five years after the previous manual system was scrapped.
The new arrangement replaces cash payments at toll booths with a fully automated digital system that the government says will reduce traffic congestion, improve efficiency and generate more reliable funding for road construction and maintenance.
The approval followed Parliament's adoption of a report by its Roads and Transportation Committee, after lawmakers debated the merits of restoring toll collection, which was suspended in November 2021.
Under the electronic system, motorists will no longer be required to stop at toll booths. Instead, vehicles will be detected electronically, with users expected to pay through digital platforms.
Speaking during the debate, the Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul, defended the previous government's decision to abolish road tolls, saying it was intended to ease the financial burden on Ghanaians following the introduction of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy).
"We did not want to burden Ghanaians with both the e-levy and the road tolls. Basically, that was the reason," he said.
Mr Nitiwul, who served as defence minister under the previous administration, nonetheless endorsed the new electronic model, arguing that technology would eliminate many of the operational challenges associated with manual toll collection.
He cited South Africa's electronic tolling system as an example, saying motorists would no longer experience delays at toll plazas.
"You pass, there will be a beep, and then you go; at the end of the month, they bring you a bill, and then you pay," he told Parliament.
He urged lawmakers to support the concession, describing it as a practical way to secure long-term financing for Ghana's road network.
The concession provides the legal framework for private sector participation in financing, designing, operating and maintaining the country's electronic tolling infrastructure over the next two decades.
The government says the digital platform will help curb revenue leakages that affected the previous toll collection system while providing a sustainable source of funding for road maintenance and expansion.
Road tolls were abolished in November 2021 after then Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced their removal in the budget, citing concerns over congestion at toll booths and the relatively low revenue generated by the system.