GHANA – Ghana’s President, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has launched the 83.5-kilometre standard gauge railway line from Kumasi to Obuasi, which is part of the new Western Line being constructed by the government.
The project follows the inauguration of a 15 kilometer standard gauge railway connecting Sekondi withTakoradi via Kojokrom.
Before the Sekondi- Takoradi railway, Ghana had never added constructed any railway post-independence.
The only railway operating in the country was the 947-kilometer narrow-gauge rail network bequeathed to the country by the colonialists, which according to President Akufo-Addo was barely 10% was operational.
“Upon my assumption of office, I was determined to change this statistic, because I believed that the presence of an efficient, effective railway system was critical to the progress, prosperity and development of our nation.”
H.E Nana Akufo-Addo- President, Republic of Ghana
The President further noted that the cutting of the sod for the construction of the 83.5km Kumasi to Obuasi line, was a clear manifestation of the Akufo-Addo Government’s policy to grow and develop the country’s railway sector.
Earlier this year, Ghana’s Cabinet and Parliament approved a €500 million agreement for the construction of a new standard gauge line from Takoradi Harbour to Kojokrom, and also from Manso to Huni Valley.
Once this is completed, a total of one hundred and two kilometres (102km) of new standard-gauge railway lines would have been constructed in Ghana, as part of the development of a new standard-gauge Western Line.
Ghana’s Western Line is deemed by government as critical to the successful establishment of the new bauxite and aluminum industry being developed in the region, as it will provide a cost-effective and efficient way of transporting the ore and the processed raw material.
The government of Ghana is also in advanced stages of commencing the construction of the Boankra Inland Port, following the approval by Parliament of a $300 million concession facility.
Apart from the Western Line, the President of Ghana further revealed that the government had plans to establish a new line from Accra to Tema and another one from Eduabin to Paga through Bechem, Sunyani, Techiman and Tamale
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