How Much Is Cement in Ghana Today?
A 50kg bag of cement in Greater Accra runs about ₵102 for Dzata, the cheapest major brand, up to ₵120 for Ghacem 42.5R. Cement moves almost every month, and the reason is almost always the same: the cedi. Clinker and gypsum are imported and paid for in dollars, so when the cedi weakens the bag price follows within weeks. This page puts the materials price next to the live cedi rate, works out what a house actually costs to build in materials, and untangles the per-ton versus per-piece confusion on iron rods. Prices are retail, vary by dealer and delivery, and are a build-day verification target.
Cheapest cement
Dzata, per 50kg bag
Ghacem 42.5R
market leader, per bag
Cement this month
tracking the cedi
12mm iron rod
per 12m length
Cement by brand
| Brand | Grade | Per 50kg bag | vs cheapest | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dzata Cement· cheapest | 50kg | ₵102₵95–₵108 | — | triangulated |
| CIMAF 42.5R | 50kg 42.5R | ₵104₵98–₵108 | +2% | triangulated |
| Savanna Cement | 50kg 42.5R | ₵104₵100–₵110 | +2% | indicative |
| Diamond Cement | 50kg | ₵105₵100–₵112 | +3% | indicative |
| Supacem 42.5R | 50kg 42.5R | ₵109₵104–₵114 | +7% | indicative |
| Dangote 42.5 | 50kg 42.5 | ₵112₵108–₵118 | +10% | triangulated |
| Ghacem Super Strong | 50kg 42.5N | ₵115₵110–₵120 | +13% | triangulated |
| Ghacem Extra | 50kg 42.5R | ₵120₵115–₵125 | +18% | triangulated |
The five established majors, cheapest to dearest. Newer value-tier brands are below.
Newer and value-tier brands
A wave of newer plants — Empire (Weija, 2023), Bright (Afienya, 2022) and imported Sol — undercut the majors, from about ₵72 a bag. They are genuinely cheaper, with the caveat of a shorter track record; for a given grade the strength standard is the same.
| Brand | Grade | Per 50kg bag | vs cheapest | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bright Cement | 50kg 42.5R | ₵72₵68–₵80 | — | indicative |
| Sol Cement | 50kg CEM II | ₵78₵70–₵95 | +8% | indicative |
| Empire Cement | 50kg 42.5R | ₵92₵88–₵96 | +28% | indicative |
We also track Golden — real, licensed brand with too thin a retail footprint to confirm a street price, so we quote none rather than guess. Golden →
Full price page for each brand
Explore prices by material
Each material has its own page with current prices, how much a build needs, quality guidance and how to buy.
Structural shell
Finishing & services
What will it cost to build?
A materials estimate for a house of your size and finish, at today's prices. Materials only — not the full build.
| Material | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cement (50kg bags) | 495 | ₵50,490 |
| Iron rod (tons, mild) | 4 | ₵40,000 |
| Blocks (6-inch) | 3,600 | ₵32,400 |
| Sand (tipper trips) | 4 | ₵6,400 |
| Chippings (tipper trips) | 3 | ₵7,800 |
| Roofing sheets | 50 | ₵10,000 |
| Materials total (~150 sqm) | ₵147,090 |
Materials only — this is not a full build cost. It excludes land, labour, finishes, fittings, plumbing, electricals, doors, windows and professional fees, which together often match or exceed the shell. Quantities use Ghana rule-of-thumb ratios and are an estimate.
The cement and iron lines move with the cedi — a 5% move in the rate shifts the cement cost by roughly the same. See today's cedi rate before you lock a delivery schedule.
Why cement prices track the cedi
Cement is the clearest example on this site of a local price set by the exchange rate. Ghana makes its own cement — Ghacem, Dangote, Dzata, Diamond and CIMAF all bag domestically — but the two most expensive inputs, clinker and gypsum, are largely imported and paid for in US dollars.
So when the cedi weakens, the cost of a bag rises within weeks, and manufacturers say so plainly: Ghacem's own price-change notices routinely cite the exchange rate as the reason. The arc since 2022 tells the story. As the cedi slid from around ₵7.60 to the dollar toward ₵11.50, a bag of Ghacem roughly doubled, from the ₵60–70 range to ₵120 today.
When the cedi weakened 4.6% last May, cement notices went out; when it recovered through July, the pressure eased. This is why we put the cement price next to the live cedi rate rather than in a static list — the number you see is downstream of the currency, and a 5% move in the cedi shifts the bag price by roughly the same. Watch the rate on our cedi page and you can see the next cement move coming.
— accra.cool desk
Iron rods, by piece and by ton
1 ton ≈ 94 lengths
At piece prices (₵160 each): ₵15,040. By the ton (₵10,000/ton): ₵10,000 — about ₵5,040 cheaper buying bulk.
Lengths per ton are approximate for 12-metre deformed mild-steel bars and vary with exact weight and mill. Buyers are often quoted by the ton but budget by the piece — this is where the two meet. High-tensile rod costs more per ton.
Choosing the right cement grade
Cement grade is where builders most often over- or under-spend. The number — 32.5, 42.5 — is the compressive strength in megapascals after 28 days; the letter, N or R, is how fast it gets there (R for rapid, N for normal). For structural work that carries load — columns, beams, suspended slabs — 42.5R is the standard, and it is worth the small premium because the strength is doing real work.
For block moulding, plastering and screeding, a 42.5N or even a 32.5 is perfectly adequate, and paying for 42.5R there is money on the floor. The practical rule: match the grade to the job, not to the brand's marketing. A cheaper brand's 42.5R is structurally equivalent to a dearer brand's 42.5R — the standard is the standard — so for a given grade, price is a fair basis to choose on.
Where brands genuinely differ is consistency of bagging and setting time, which is why some blockyards develop a preference. None of this is a reason to buy up: most of a house is blockwork and plaster, where the mid grades do the job.
— accra.cool desk
Blocks, sand, aggregate and roofing
| Material | Unit | Price | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-inch hollow block5-inch hollow | piece | ₵7–₵8 | triangulated |
| 6-inch solid block6-inch solid | piece | ₵8–₵10 | triangulated |
| Sand (tipper trip)~7 tonnes | trip | ₵1,400–₵1,800 | indicative |
| Chippings (tipper trip)~7 tonnes | trip | ₵2,200–₵3,000 | indicative |
| Roofing sheet (gauge 30)gauge 30 x 12ft | sheet | ₵185–₵220 | indicative |
Sand and chippings sell by the tipper trip (~7 tonnes), not the bag; delivery distance across Accra is a real variable.
What the shell leaves out: finishing & services
Cement, iron, blocks, sand and roofing build the shell — but a house you can live in also needs tiles, paint, doors, windows, plumbing, wiring, a ceiling and the fittings and connections that make it work. These lines add up fast, and general construction benchmarks put finishes at roughly a third or more of the total build. Ghana itemised breakdowns vary — some still show the shell as the larger half — so we don't claim a fixed split; we simply price the pieces so you can total your own. Every figure carries a confidence badge, and where no defensible price exists (odum roofing timber, per-kilo nails) we leave it out rather than guess.
| Material | Unit | Price | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiles prices → | |||
| 40×40 ceramic floor tile1.92 m² · 12 pcs | box | ₵165–₵185 | triangulated |
| 60×60 porcelain floor tile1.44 m² · 4 pcs | box | ₵155–₵260 | triangulated |
| Paint prices → | |||
| Gloss / oil paint4.5L gallon | gallon | ₵90–₵110 | verified |
| Emulsion paint (interior)20L bucket | bucket | ₵281–₵300 | verified |
| Exterior weathershield emulsion20L bucket | bucket | ₵401–₵511 | verified |
| Ceiling prices → | |||
| POP (plaster of Paris)40 kg bag | bag | ₵80–₵95 | triangulated |
| PVC ceiling panelT&G laminated | panel | ₵110–₵190 | triangulated |
| Plasterboard (gypsum) 12.5mm1200×2400 mm | sheet | ₵180–₵200 | triangulated |
| Doors prices → | |||
| Interior wooden flush doorleaf, some with frame | piece | ₵800–₵2,500 | triangulated |
| External metal / security doorwith frame, locks, keys | piece | ₵1,750–₵8,000 | triangulated |
| Windows prices → | |||
| Aluminium sliding windowglazed, size varies | unit | ₵600–₵2,000 | triangulated |
| Louvre window (complete)glass blades + frame | unit | ₵600–₵1,500 | triangulated |
| Plumbing prices → | |||
| PVC pipe, ½-inch~3–6 m length | length | ₵25–₵40 | triangulated |
| PPR pipe (20–32mm)4 m length | length | ₵21–₵55 | triangulated |
| PVC pipe, 3-inch~3–4 m length | length | ₵95–₵125 | triangulated |
| Water-closet (WC) setcomplete with cistern | set | ₵750–₵2,500 | triangulated |
| Electrical prices → | |||
| Switch / 13A socketwall-mounted | piece | ₵20–₵60 | triangulated |
| Building cable 1.5mm²~90 m coil | coil | ₵145–₵380 | triangulated |
| Building cable 2.5mm²~90 m coil | coil | ₵470–₵610 | triangulated |
| Timber prices → | |||
| Wawa timber 2×416 ft | piece | ₵30–₵40 | triangulated |
| Nails & wire | |||
| Nails (assorted)~1 lb box, 1–4 inch | box | ₵5–₵75 | indicative |
| Binding wirefull coil | coil | ₵450–₵560 | indicative |
| Fittings & services | |||
| Prepaid meter (ECG)ECG connection | connection | ₵400–₵700 | triangulated |
| Metal gatestandard compound gate | gate | ₵900–₵8,500 | indicative |
| Polytank, 1,000 L1,000 litre | tank | ₵1,200–₵2,815 | triangulated |
| Septic / Biofil digesterinstalled | unit | ₵2,500–₵4,500 | triangulated |
Retail Greater Accra listings; sizes and brands vary widely, so these are typical bands, not quotes. Cable, doors and windows in particular span a genuine budget-to-premium range.
What a 3-bedroom build costs in 2026
Take a standard three-bedroom bungalow of roughly 150 square metres. In materials alone — and materials alone is the important caveat — it runs on the order of 450 to 550 bags of cement, three to five tons of reinforcement, three to four thousand blocks, several tipper loads of sand and chippings, and the roofing sheets to cover it.
At today's Greater Accra prices that is very roughly ₵180,000 to ₵260,000 in materials, and the calculator above will give you a figure for your own size and finish level. What that number does not include is the land, the labour, the finishes, the fittings, the plumbing and electricals, the doors and windows, or the professional fees — and those together often match or exceed the shell.
So treat any materials estimate as the floor of the real cost, not the total. The other thing to hold in mind is that this figure is not stable: the cement and iron lines both move with the cedi, so a materials bill quoted in January can be meaningfully different by June. If you are costing a build, price the materials close to when you will buy them, and read the cedi page before you commit to a delivery schedule.
— accra.cool desk
Cement price history
Ghacem Extra
2024–2026
₵80 → ₵120
+50%
Dzata Cement
2024–2026
₵70 → ₵102
+46%
A 50kg bag roughly doubled as the cedi slid from around ₵7.60 to ₵11.50 per dollar since 2022. The jumps line up with currency moves — May 2026's 4.6% depreciation brought fresh cement notices. History is sparse and marked indicative; the trajectory is the point, not the exact monthly value.
When the government tried to cap cement
In an attempt to tame rising cement prices, Ghana's Ministry of Trade and Industry moved to introduce price controls through a Cement Manufacturing Development Committee, proposing approved ex-factory prices and a mechanism to police them. Manufacturers largely ignored it, and the prices kept moving.
The reason it failed is the reason cement is on this page next to the cedi: the price is driven by an imported, dollar-denominated input cost, not by domestic profiteering. A price cap can address a margin problem; it cannot repeal an exchange rate.
When the cedi depreciates and clinker costs more in cedi terms, a manufacturer told to sell below cost simply does not — they hold stock, ration supply, or absorb the shortfall until the policy quietly lapses. The episode is a useful illustration of a general point: controlling the symptom rarely works when the cause is macroeconomic.
The durable fix for cement prices is a stable cedi, which is a monetary-policy question, not a hardware-shop one. Until then, the honest thing a price page can do is show the driver, which is what we do.
— accra.cool desk
Where to buy, and how the market is structured
Materials reach a builder through three channels, and the right one depends on volume. For a whole project, buying at or near factory or authorised-distributor level, in wholesale quantities, is meaningfully cheaper per unit — cement and iron both break to lower prices above a threshold, which is why serious builders order by the trailer rather than the bag.
For top-ups and smaller jobs, neighbourhood hardware shops and blockyards are the norm; you pay retail but you get it today and nearby. Online listings on platforms like Jiji and dedicated hardware sites are useful for surveying the current range and finding delivery, though the posted price is a starting point, not a fixed one.
Whichever channel, treat delivery as a real line item, not an afterthought: a tipper of sand or a pallet of cement carries a haulage cost that varies with distance across Accra and can quietly add a tenth to a small order. We do not endorse specific vendors or carry affiliate links — this is a description of how the market works so you can navigate it, not a recommendation of who to buy from.
— accra.cool desk
Common questions
- A 50kg bag runs about ₵102 for Dzata, the cheapest major brand, up to ₵120 for Ghacem 42.5R. Prices move monthly with the cedi, so confirm at the yard.
Have a question we should answer? Email hello@accra.cool.