The first 700 housing units at the long-delayed Saglemi Housing Project are expected to be completed and ready for commissioning by March 2027, with developer LMI Holdings targeting completion of the first 1,500 homes by December 2027. The timeline was announced during President John Dramani Mahama’s inspection of the project in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday, August 20, 2026, as government seeks to revive the stalled development and turn the site into a major residential community.
President Mahama said the government’s decision to bring in the private sector was aimed at completing a project that had remained largely dormant for years and providing thousands of Ghanaian families with access to affordable housing. He expressed confidence in LMI Holdings’ commitment and said he expected the developer to meet the agreed deadlines. “It is my hope that shortly after Christmas, around Easter next year, we shall gather here to commission the first 700 housing units and hand them over to homeowners. Then, in December next year, we shall return once again to commission the remaining units, completing the first phase of 1,500 houses,” he said.
The first phase forms part of the original 5,000-unit Saglemi affordable housing project, which was conceived during the administration of the late President John Evans Atta Mills. The project, however, stalled following a change in government, with legal and investigative processes subsequently surrounding the development. Years of inactivity left completed structures and other facilities exposed to deterioration and vandalism. Electrical cables, fittings, wash basins, bathtubs, bulbs and underground telecommunications cables were among items reportedly removed from the site during the prolonged period of abandonment.
The renewed construction programme is therefore expected not only to complete unfinished housing units but also to restore infrastructure and transform the site into a functioning residential community. President Mahama said the completed estate would provide a modern living environment for thousands of families and urged prospective buyers to act quickly once the sales portal becomes operational. “I want to encourage Ghanaians to register as soon as the sales portal is opened because these houses will be in high demand,” he said.
The President said the development would serve a wider population beyond individual home seekers, particularly workers employed by industries operating along the Tema–Dawa corridor. According to him, companies around Tema and the Dawa Industrial Park could acquire some of the houses for their employees, creating a direct link between the housing development and the rapidly expanding industrial activity in the area. He said the combination of housing and industrial development could help create a more integrated economic corridor where workers live closer to their places of employment.
Government also plans to improve transport infrastructure serving the Saglemi area, with the President pointing to ongoing and planned road and railway projects as important components of the development. He said the road from Saglemi towards Aflao was being dualized, with the first phase already under construction and the second phase, from Central University, being prepared for award. Residents of the estate, he said, would consequently have access to faster and more efficient road transportation. A planned railway connection is also expected to link the area to the wider industrial and port network. President Mahama said the railway would carry passengers as well as cargo, including containers and industrial goods moving between the Tema Port and the Dawa Industrial Park. The supporting infrastructure, he argued, would strengthen Saglemi’s position within an emerging industrial and residential growth corridor and contribute to government’s broader vision of developing a Green Digital City.
The completion of the first 1,500 homes is not intended to mark the end of the Saglemi project. President Mahama said work would subsequently continue on the remaining 3,500 units, bringing the development closer to its original 5,000-unit target. The revival forms part of a broader government effort to increase Ghana’s housing stock and ease the financial pressure on households struggling with high rents and large advance-payment requirements. The President disclosed that government was also preparing a wider national housing programme, details of which are expected to be presented by the Finance Minister in the next budget. He said GH¢500 million had already been allocated to the District Housing Scheme, with construction expected to begin in selected districts as part of a four-year housing programme.
The renewed activity at Saglemi consequently places the project at the centre of government’s attempt to move beyond stalled housing schemes and deliver additional affordable homes, while linking residential development to roads, railways and industrial expansion. For the thousands of Ghanaians who have watched the Saglemi project remain unfinished for years, however, the key test will now be whether the new deadlines translate into completed homes and actual handovers on schedule.
By: Joyce Owusu
