Description:
Infrastructure contributed just over one
percentage point to Ghana's annual per capital GDP
growth during the 2000s. Raising the country s
infrastructure endowment to that of the region's
middle-income countries could boost the annual growth rate
by more than 2.7 percentage points. Ghana has an advanced
infrastructure platform when compared with other low-income
countries in Africa. The country s coverage levels for rural
water, electricity, and GSM signals are impressive. A large
share of the road network is in good or fair condition.
Institutional reforms have been adopted in the ICT, ports,
roads, and water supply sectors. Ghana s most pressing
challenges lie in the power sector, where outmoded
transmission and distribution assets, rapid demand growth,
and periodic hydrological shocks leave the country reliant
on high-cost oil-based generation. Exceptionally high losses
in water distribution leave little to reach end customers,
who are thus exposed to intermittent supplies. Addressing
Ghana's infrastructure challenges will require raising
annual expenditures to $2.3 billion. The country already
spends about $1.2 billion per year on infrastructure,
equivalent to about 7.5 percent of GDP. A further $1.1
billion is lost each year to inefficiencies, notably
underpricing of power.Ghana's annual infrastructure
funding gap is about $0.4 billion per year, chiefly related
to power and water. Following its recent oil discoveries,
Ghana can raise additional public funding from increased tax
receipts. The country has several strong areas on which to
build and a solid economic base from which to fund
incremental efforts.