Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has bragged about his accomplishments in the country’s rail industry.
He said that since independence, his administration has built more railway lines than any other.
“I want to state for the record that throughout the last five years of my administration, the railway industry has experienced greater construction activity than at any time since independence. We have established a strong base, which will gain even more momentum by the conclusion of my term in 2025.
When he dedicated the Afienya Road Over Bridge, a crucial part of the new 97.7-kilometer standard gauge railway line from Tema to Mpakadan railway project, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, he declared, “My commitment to the creation of a new contemporary standard railway network is unshakeable.
The project, according to President Akufo-Addo, was conceived to create a multimodal transportation network, involving road, rail, and lake transportation, which will facilitate the haulage of cargo and the movement of people from the southern part of the country to the northern sector through a mix of international and domestic transportation.
The President noted that since the majority of domestic freight and transit freight between Accra, Tema, and northern Ghana, as well as further to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, is currently transported by road via Kumasi, Tamale, Bolgatanga, Navrongo, and Paga, the over-reliance of Ghana’s road network and the absence of other transport alternatives, particularly between Accra and Kumasi, have led to congestion, rapid deterioration of roads, and
According to the President, this is why the former Ministry of Harbours and Railways ordered a feasibility study for a multimodal transportation link between Tema and Buipe through the Volta Lake in June 2007.
“The study, which focused on the economic, financial, and operational viability of the multi-modal freight route, was successfully finished in 2009.
Consequently, the Credit Facility and the Commercial Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the EXIM Bank of India, with AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd., also of India, as the contractor for the project, were approved by resolution at the 6th Parliament’s 14th Sitting of its Third Meeting on Monday, October 31, 2016, he continued.
Source: newsthemegh.com