Rail sector to get a boost

President John Dramani Mahama has vowed to revive the country’s railway transport sector, currently in a very deplorable state.

The Western rail line, for instance, has been a major problem for bulk producers of manganese and bauxite miners, forcing them to use costly road transport to haul their minerals and equipment.

“As I speak now, work on the Sekondi and Kojokrom railway line is on track.

“I have also asked a team, comprising the Ministers of Finance and Transport, to actualise my plans for the railway sector, which includes the construction of a new railway link between Tema and the Boankra Inland Port and also the Western railway lines from the Takoradi to Kumasi.

“This is a way of attracting more interest and increasing revenue while connecting with the landlocked countries,” said President Mahama during the state-of-the-nation address yesterday.

The President pledged a massive revival of the defunct rail system.

“There will be significant improvement in our railway network in the next three years. Government believes that the private sector has a role to play in the ongoing modernisation of the rail sector. 

 “An example is the rehabilitation of the Accra to Tema railway network, Kumasi to Ejisu railway line, Accra-Nsawam railway line, and Takoradi to Kojokrom railway network,” he said.   

In 2010, a contract was signed to construct a railway line from Paga (on the border with Burkina Faso) to Kumasi plus a branch from Tamale to Yendi, but nothing realistic appears to be ongoing.

B&FT has gathered that government will soon commence the US$250million proposed Boankra Inland Port and the eastern railway line projects, after it concludes a comprehensive search for transaction advisors to enable it to develop a viable project.

Proposals from six firms are still being scrutinised to meet the criteria for undertaking the project -- which has been stalled for some 24 years now. 

Mr. Eric Tetteh, Planning Officer at the Ministry of Transport, said “A lot of ground-work has been done” on the project located at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.

“Government has now requested for a financial advisor to structure the entire process, come out with the financial modelling, and get all the necessary things in place so that investors that come will know what is required of them,” he said.

A search for a strategic investor in 2010 stalled as none of the interested investors reportedly met the financial requirements.

The construction will help decongest the Tema and Takoradi Ports and spur a rise in the country’s maritime trade. It is expected to create 1,000 jobs when completed.

Its completion will not only boost economic activities and create employment, but also ease transportation problems and reduce the high cost of transporting goods and services to the Northern Region.

Explaining the reason for the delay, Mr. Tetteh said there were competing projects that did not allow the ministry to use its internally generated funds to build the port.

He said the greatest challenge facing the project is lack of an accessible rail network, but added that development of the eastern railway line will help attract investors to partner government in implementing the project, which is considered a viable economic venture.