GHANA’s 97.6km standard gauge line between Tema and Mpakadan is expected to open in December, the country’s minister for railway development, Mr John-Peter Amewu, told reporters after inspecting the Volta Rail Bridge that forms part of the project. The 300m-long bridge connects Senchi and Old Akrade across the Volta River.
Construction of the line, which runs north from the outskirts of the capital Accra, is part of the government strategy to develop the country’s railway industry. Ghana aims to build more than 4500km of lines across the country.
The Tema - Mpakadan line is part of the first phase of the 1000km Ghana-Burkina Faso Railway Interconnectivity Project, which will build a line from the port of Tema in Ghana to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
The new railway, where construction began in July 2018, was due to be completed last year but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The line will feature six passenger stations and a freight terminal near the port of Tema, which is intended to facilitate freight movements to and from Ghana’s north and beyond.
The project is being funded by the Export-Import Bank of India, which pledged $US 447m to fund design and construction of the line. The parliament of Ghana approved a budget of $US 230m to purchase rolling stock for the new railway.
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