Ghana’s economic recovery could face a major structural constraint if persistent infrastructure gaps in roads, power, water, sanitation and transport are not addressed, according to the 2026 Infrastructure Report Card by the Ghana Institution of Engineering.
The report gave Ghana’s infrastructure a D3 grade, representing 57%, reflecting concerns over inadequate maintenance, weak asset management and years of underinvestment.
The infrastructure deficit has direct implications for businesses, including higher transportation and production costs, unreliable supply chains and limited access to markets.
The World Bank’s Ghana Sustainable Cities Strategy estimates that the country requires about US$37.2 billion annually in infrastructure investment to meet its long-term development needs.
However, Ghana’s infrastructure investment between 2010 and 2020 averaged only about 5% of GDP, while the African Development Bank estimates the country’s broader investment financing gap at approximately 9% of GDP.
The financing challenge has been compounded by high public debt, limited domestic revenue and tighter access to affordable international capital.
Private Capital Needed
With government finances constrained, the country will need to rely increasingly on private investment, public-private partnerships and blended finance to fund major infrastructure projects.
The approach could allow development finance institutions to absorb part of the risks associated with projects while attracting commercial capital into areas such as energy, transport, sanitation and rural infrastructure.
There is also a need to strengthen Ghana’s domestic capital markets and increase the use of long-term local currency financing to reduce exposure to foreign exchange risks.
A key challenge, however, is converting investment pledges into actual projects. This will require Ghana to develop a pipeline of well-structured and commercially viable infrastructure projects that can attract banks, institutional investors and development finance.
Improved infrastructure would reduce the cost of doing business, increase productivity and strengthen Ghanaian companies’ ability to compete in regional and international markets.
Closing the infrastructure gap is therefore critical to ensuring that economic growth translates into sustained private-sector expansion, job creation and broader economic development.
