Tema-Aflao road contractor returns to site after 15-month halt

After over a year of dormancy, work has officially resumed on the critical Tema-Aflao road project, following direct appeals and financial reassurances from the government of Ghana.

BHM International Construction (UK) Ltd, the contractors overseeing the 17-kilometre stretch from the Tema Roundabout to the Central University campus at Miotso, returned to the site on Monday, 7th April 2025.

The $105 million project—funded by a bilateral loan from the United Kingdom—had been suspended since December 2022 due to the government’s temporary halt on debt service payments amid a broader debt restructuring exercise.

The suspension was a consequence of Ghana’s announcement in late 2022 to pause payments on Eurobonds, commercial loans and most bilateral loans as part of its Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

However, recent pronouncements by President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, and the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, appear to have rekindled confidence among contractors.

“We are delighted to be here today with all of our colleagues and our equipment as we resume work on the Tema-Aflao Interchange programme,” said the Country Director of BHM Ghana, Adrian Wilson.

Country Director of BHM Ghana, Adrian Wilson

“We have been delighted with the public reassurances recently for funding to be unfrozen with regard to the debt restructuring. So, with that, we have decided to resume work today. Potentially, maybe other contractors wouldn’t take that risk but we have seen enough reassurances from the (Ghanaian) government and we know that the UK government is fully behind the reinstatement of these loans, so it may be premature but we are going to take that risk and we are going to restart.”

The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, who recently conducted a tour of road infrastructure sites across the country, had earlier appealed to contractors to return, assuring them of the government’s commitment to unlocking funding tied up in the debt restructuring.

The company’s Client Relations Manager, Wisdom Adonu, acknowledged the assurances and urged the government to expedite the reinstatement of the loan facility to ensure timely completion.

“This is our commitment to the project. We have returned to the site, and we appeal to the government to do its part by restoring the loan facility,” he stated. “Yeah, well, based on all the assurances the Minister and the President has given. We have written this morning to them in good faith that we have resumed work today per the contract demands. Thank you.”

The current scope of the work, which begins one kilometre east of the Tema Motorway Roundabout and stretches beyond Central University, is a significant component of Ghana’s eastern corridor transport network. It includes a 3-lane dual carriageway, one-way two-lane service roads on either side, and four major interchanges at Kpone Barrier, Savannah, Afienya, and Prampram.