Ghana: Railway Authority Signs $500m Agreement to Construct Western Railway Line

By Richard Adorsu-

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Accra- Ghana’s railway sector is set to witness a major transformation after signing 500-million-dollar agreement between Ghana Railways Development Authority and Amandi Holdings Ltd.

The project will see the construction of sections of the Western Railway Line (Standard Gauge Line) between Takoradi Port and Huni Valley, forming a total of 102 kilometers of continuous single-track railway line.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister for Railway Development, Joe Ghartey, outlined the benefits of the project towards the improvement of the country’s rail network.

“The impact is that, since 2012 when that construction was done, we are now connecting the railway line to the Port. That’s the first thing so the goods can move straight to the ports. Thanks be to God. The same company, Amani, is also involved in the port work so they will work with themselves so to speak, to make sure that we are doing 8 km within the ports. Next, as I said we are converting some of the narrow ports that we have to standard gates. The section between Kojokrom and Eshiem, we are creating a bypass,” he said.

He also stated that a provisional amount has been earmarked for the Employer’s and Engineer’s Cost and supervision facilities, including land acquisition and payment for affected people, payable by the Employer.

The Minister stated that from 2012 to 2017, a narrow-gauge line of approximately 15km was constructed from Sekondi to Takoradi.

“Even though its construction commenced in 2012 and was completed in 2017, barely three years ago, they have to convert it to standard gauge in line with the policy that all new constructions of railway would be standard gauge,” he added.

He said the conversion of Kojokrom to Takoradi Station section of the line would be done under this contract.

The Western Rail Line runs from the Takoradi Port to Kumasi with a branch line from Dunkwa to Awaso. It is a total of 339 kilometers.

The project when completed will connect two major mining companies, the Ghana Manganese Mine at Nsuta and Bauxite Mine in Awaso to the Port of Takoradi allowing for efficient transport of minerals.

For New Africa Daily News Richard Adorsu Reports,  Africa Correspondent