Indian Contractor Abandons Tamale-walewale Road Project: A-G Pursuing Refund – Roads Minister

Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has revealed that the Attorney-General (A-G) is actively working to retrieve nearly $30 million paid to an Indian contractor who has abandoned the Tamale-Walewale road project without executing any meaningful work.

Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, August 3, 2025, the Minister disclosed that the contract—signed under the previous NPP administration—permitted the contractor to exit the agreement in the event of delayed payments, a clause he described as deeply flawed and exploitative.

“In that contract, we agreed to pay the contractor a certain amount of money—close to $30 million—and if they raise the next payment certificate and we’re unable to honour it after some time, they are free to request contract termination,” Agbodza explained.

He criticized the structure of the contract, questioning why a government would permit a contractor to walk away with such a significant sum with no work done.

“Imagine struggling to secure a loan, giving the money to a contractor to start a project, and then writing a clause that allows them to disappear with 30% if funding delays occur. It defies logic,” he lamented.

The $158 million project, awarded in 2022 and scheduled for completion by December 2025, has been stalled after the contractor reportedly tendered a termination request, unbeknownst to key officials.

“As of the end of 2024, when then Vice President Bawumia was promising that the contractor would return to site, he wasn’t even aware that the company had already submitted its termination notice,” the Minister revealed.

Agbodza firmly stated that the government will not let the issue rest. He said the contractor faces two options: either return to site and complete work equivalent to the $30 million already paid or refund the money to the state.

He confirmed that the Attorney-General is now actively pursuing legal channels to recover the funds.

“The A-G is involved in this, and even before the previous administration left office, there were efforts to compel an insurance company to reimburse Ghana. But that process was halted by a court order. We’re respecting the rule of law, but we are actively working on it,” he said.

The abandonment of the Tamale-Walewale road—an important artery in Ghana’s northern transport corridor—has raised concerns about transparency, contract enforcement, and the state’s vulnerability to poorly structured agreements.