John Peter Amewu, Minister for Railways Development, has pledged government’s commitment to revamping the railway sector in the country.
According to him, the railway sector has hitherto been in a deplorable state save the timely intervention of the Akufo-Addo led administration.
Moreover, Mr. Amewu revealed that, government has done better than the previous government in improving the railway sector.
“The President mentioned in his inaugural address and the State of the Nation Address his vision for the industry. We need to revamp the industry. What this government has done within these 4 years in terms of the expenditure combined is far more than the 16 years in the previous governments’ expenditure combined.
“I am not exaggerating, the records are there for everyone to see. People who are in the industry really admit it. The capital injection we put in for these four years is in excess of the capital injection in the industry in the past 16 years. So, it tells you the vision of the government”.
Peter Amewu hints on construction of an Ultra-modern terminal
Speaking at an inspection of works on the Tema-Mpakadan railway line, Mr. Amewu also disclosed that he will begin a formal discussion with the Transport Minister to develop an ultra-modern terminal and port at the terminating point of the rail-line.
According to Mr. Amewu, the project, linking Ghana and Burkina Faso will improve trade in the West African sub region.
On his part, the paramount Chief of Akwamu, Nana Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, demanded compensation for affected farmers and traders.
He further called on the Railway Ministry to engage the community on the importance of the project.
Government set to procure two diesel unit coaches
Meanwhile, government has expressed its intent to procure two diesel multiple unit coaches for the railway line.
According to the Chief Executive of the Ghana Railway Development Authority, Yaw Owusu, funds have been made available to carry out purchase of the coaches. This is part of moves to ensure that the about 70 kilometres railway line begins operation by November this year.
“Ministry of Finance has approved for the purchase of two Diesel Mutiple Unit coaches for the purposes of this line from Tema to Mpakadan and we are expecting them to arrive before the completion timeline of the project which is November 2021”.
The Tema-Mpakadan rail line is part of the 1,000km Railway Interconnectivity Project which will link Ghana from Tema to Ouagadougou.
The Ministry of Railways Development in 2017 revealed that government will require $21.5 billion to build a robust railway infrastructure in the country.
The project, which was expected to be completed in 2020, included the revamping of the Western, Eastern and Central Railway lines.
The sector Minister then, Mr Joe Ghartey, disclosed that it would cost $1.8 billion to revamp the Western line. He further indicated that some $1.6 billion and $3.3 billion would be used for the Eastern and the Central lines, respectively.
“This, when completed, will connect the major cities such as Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tamale to the rest of the country”.
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