President Akufo-Addo
PRESIDENT Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has indicated that the once-dying Ghanaian railway sector is being rapidly revived by his administration.
He has also pointed out massive works being done in the aviation sector, with the aim of making Ghana the aviation hub in West Africa.
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, December 19, 2018, at the Jubilee House – the seat of government – during his final engagement with the media for this year.
The history of the railway sector dates back to colonial times. The sector was virtually ‘dead’ upon the coming into office of the Akufo-Addo government on January 7, 2017.
In reviving the sector, one of the initial bold steps taken by the President was the establishment of a special ministry – the Ministry of Railways Development. He proceeded to appoint the Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado in the Western Region, Joe Ghartey, as the minister for the sector.
The minister, together with his two deputies, has been working assiduously to revamp the sector, which is now attracting a lot of interest from scores of foreign investors particularly from China, US, Russia, among other countries.
President Akufo-Addo highlighted some major rehabilitation works in the railway sector which are currently ongoing, many of which, he said, were near completion.
He stated: “We are not only rehabilitating the old narrow-gauge line. I am happy to report that the procurement process is far advanced to develop a new standard gauge line for the Eastern Railway Line and others for us to have a network that covers the whole country.”
For instance, he made mention of the rehabilitation work on the 56-kilometre narrow-gauge line from Kojokrom to Tarkwa through Nsuta which he said was nearing completion.
The 56-kilometre narrow gauge, he disclosed, would lead to the restoration of passenger rail services from Tarkwa to Takoradi for the first time since 2007.
According to him, “the freight service from the manganese mine at Nsuta to Takoradi is in operation, and the ongoing rehabilitation has also led to a spectacular reduction in the number of derailments and incidents that occur on the line.”
He explained that during his recent visit to the Ghana Railway Company Limited, he realised that the company, with its own workforce, had started rehabilitation works on the 70.8-kilometre narrow gauge section of the Eastern Railway Line from Accra to Nsawam and Accra to Tema.
Encroachment
However, the President expressed worry about encroachments along railway lines. He said a major difficulty that could slow down the work of this exciting development is the nuisance posed by encroachers.
He appealed to all Ghanaians “to join in and be part of this exciting development, and not place any hindrances in the path of bringing modern railways to our country.”
Touching on developments in the aviation sector, the President said: “We welcome the competition as this is bringing down the prices for customers. Terminal 3 at Kotoka International Airport is open for business and it’s attracting a lot of positive comments. I expect that the managers of this facility will maintain it at the highest standards. The airports at Ho and Wa are ready, and we await the commercial flights that have been promised.”
BY Melvin Tarlue