Road construction projects being undertaken under the government’s Big Push programme account for about 49 percent of fibre-optic cable cuts recorded across Ghana, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has disclosed.

He described road construction as the leading cause of damage to the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, warning that the frequent disruption of fibre networks was affecting services and forcing operators to spend millions of dollars on repairs.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, September 7, 2026, Sam George said Ghana had already recorded 8,578 fibre cuts this year, with the associated repair bill exceeding US$20 million.

He said the resources being spent on restoring damaged cables could instead be invested in expanding telecommunications infrastructure and improving network coverage, particularly in underserved communities.

“That’s money that without the fibre cut we could have used to build new sites… The biggest source of fibre cuts is from the Big Push project because the Ministry of Roads is carrying out an aggressive project to construct roads across the country,” he said.

The Minister explained that the scale of road construction currently underway had increased the risk of damage to underground fibre infrastructure, making the Big Push programme the single largest contributor to fibre cuts nationwide.

He said the challenge was not new, pointing to a sustained pattern of fibre damage over the past several years.

Ghana recorded approximately 3,900 fibre cuts in 2021, with the figure rising to more than 10,000 in 2022. More than 6,000 incidents were recorded in 2023, followed by over 5,600 in 2024 and about 8,000 in 2025.

Based on the current rate of incidents, Mr George said the country could record close to 9,000 fibre cuts by the end of 2026.

He stressed that the recurring damage was placing an additional financial burden on telecommunications companies, potentially slowing investments in new infrastructure and network expansion.

Despite the challenges, the Minister said the government remained committed to strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure and extending reliable telecommunications services to more communities.