Ghana’s rail transport infrastructure has taken a major step forward with the inauguration of the 97-kilometre Tema-Mpakadan railway line. The newly constructed line links the industrial hub of Tema to Mpakadan in the Eastern Region, promising to improve transport and trade logistics in the country.
At the commissioning ceremony, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reiterated his administration’s dedication to revitalising the railway sector. He highlighted the project’s potential to stimulate economic growth and generate employment opportunities.
“This historic achievement, the first-ever standard gauge railway line in Ghana, symbolises the bold strides we are making to modernise our transport infrastructure to drive the economic growth of our nation. “This project has proof of what is possible when vision, commitment and hard work align. As president, I pledged to prioritise the revival and expansion of Ghana’s railway sector and today, we take another giant leap forward in fulfilling that promise,” he stated.
The Tema-Mpakadan rail project involves the construction of a 97.6 km-long standard gauge railway line between Tema and Mpakadan in Ghana.
The project is part of the Government of Ghana’s strategy to develop the country’s railway industry to improve its socioeconomic condition. Ghana aims to build more than 4,500km of railway track across the country.
The Tema-Mpakadan project is being built as part of a multi-modal transportation network designed to improve connectivity between Tema Port and the country’s northern regions.
It is a component of the first phase of the 1,000km Ghana-Burkina Faso Railway Interconnectivity Project, which will build a railway line between the Port of Tema in Ghana and Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.
Construction of the project began in July 2018 and is expected to be completed by December 2022. It was previously planned to be completed in 2021 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
By: William Narh
