Barring any last-minute setbacks, work on the Takoradi Market Circle Redevelopment Project is expected to resume within a month, according to the contractor handling the project, Contracta Costruzioni Italia S.R.L.
The disclosure was made when the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, toured the project site on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
Six years after construction began, the project remains only 62 percent complete. The contractor is now proposing an extension of Phase One to meet growing commercial demand in the Western Regional capital.
Government has so far committed 41.7 million euros to the project, covering part of the original 48-million-euro contract sum as well as accumulated suspension costs.
Contracta is requesting an additional six months on Phase One to add 1,200 trading spaces, bringing total market capacity to 4,000. The company is also seeking approval for a second variation to the contract: a roughly 1.5-kilometre drainage system linking the market to the main receptacle at Mankessim White House, a component not included in the original scope of work.
“If this thing [drainage] is not resolved, it will not totally deal with the situation. But we’ve tried to mitigate it as much as possible with the design,” said Reginald Longdon, Technical Director of Contracta Costruzioni Italia S.R.L.
Following funding cuts from Italy’s export credit agency, SACE, government says it is now exploring alternative financing mechanisms to complete the project. Mr Ayariga said a new financing model could see the project completed within a year.
“I have been tasked by the Finance Minister to come up with a financing framework that enables us to complete this market. So, we’ve come up with an approach similar to what has been used at Kejetia,” he said.
“We’ve realised that if we actually rent out the 4,000 spaces, we should be able to use that revenue to complete the project. The project is far advanced, and the amount needed to finish it isn’t substantial. So we are in discussions with STDA, the Ministry, and the contractor to conclude arrangements for collecting payments from prospective traders, funds that would go toward completing the market and handing it over.”
On the proposed extension to Phase One, the Minister said the contractor’s request was reasonable.
“We are actually considering adding the 1,200 spaces and extending the completion period by six months,” he said.
The government’s delay in settling the 48-million-euro contract sum has already triggered 18.9 million euros in suspension costs, of which 7.13 million euros has been paid to date. That figure is expected to rise further if the extension is approved, even as displaced traders continue to press for one outcome above all: completion.
