The Roads and Highways Ministry has secured approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to initiate the private takeover of the management of toll booths across the country, ABC News Ghana can report.

Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako Atta, believes the move will ensure the efficient running of the booth for improved revenue generation.

“Drastic actions will be taken where necessary towards ensuring that our toll booths operate very well for us to derive the expected revenues from it as one of the main four contributing sources to the Road Fund “The Ministry has received approval from the Public Procurement Authority and this month will sign a contract with a local firm to undertake private management of all the high revenue earning toll stations in the country,” he said in an interview monitored by ABC News Ghana.

Mr Amoako Atta observes that in order for the Finance Ministry to identify additional funding sources and block revenue leakages especially at the toll booths, drastic actions must be taken, hence, the privatization of some toll booths on major highways.

At the moment there are about 35 revenue earning toll booths (soon to be 36) in the country.

The services to be provided by the private operators of these toll booths will include the rehabilitation and maintenance of the toll booths and the provision of well-tested electronic systems over a three-year contract period.

“Pretty soon the people of this country are going to see the changes that are going to be effected at all the toll booths across the country

“We have the opportunity to travel outside the countries and we see the state of toll booths and how they operate, why can’t we do same in our country? it is going to be done,” the roads minister said.

Kwesi Amoako-Atta made these comments in an address at a strategic management meeting in Kumasi under the theme, “Ghana beyond Aid: Strategies and Sustainable Investment and road Asset Preservation.”