Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced today that a second passport application centre will be opened in the Ashanti Region by the first quarter of 2027. The new facility is slated to be located in Mampong, a town that already houses a building inspected and deemed suitable for the project.
During a working visit to the region’s existing passport centre, Ablakwa highlighted the heavy workload on staff and equipment caused by high demand. “The Ashanti Region should not have only one passport application centre,” he said, adding that the new centre would reduce the burden on applicants who currently travel long distances for biometric capture.
He explained that the building is ready and the next step is procurement of the necessary equipment. “I am targeting the first quarter of next year. We already have the building and we’ve done the inspection. It’s very good. We just have to procure equipment. So we are almost there,” he added.
The minister noted that Greater Accra, with a population only slightly larger than Ashanti’s, operates three passport centres. “So why should Ashanti Region have one? The Ashanti Region should have an additional one,” he said. The new centre will serve residents in Mampong and surrounding communities, easing peak‑period workloads at the current facility.
Ablakwa said the expansion is part of broader efforts to improve access to passport services across the region. The project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027.
