The Thelo DB consortium, consisting of Thelo DB and Transtech Consult Limited, has signed a rail management agreement with the Government of the Republic of Ghana through the Ghana Railway Company Limited, to develop and operationalise the Western Railway Line
The US$3.2bn project includes planning, implementation, and operations and maintenance management.
The investment for the Ghana Western Railway Line Project will ensure that the rail infrastructure is upgraded and that there is interoperability of railway systems; new standardised rolling stock; required maintenance facilities; a spare parts regime and operational integration into other transport infrastructure and systems.
When completed it will transform Ghana’s existing rail network into a modern, robust and integrated railway system running from the Port of Takoradi to Huni Valley to Obuasi, including the branch line from Dunkwa to Awaso to Nyinahin and to Eduadin.
John-Peter Amewu, Minister of Railway Development, Ghana, commented, “Currently, the transportation of freight, including minerals and other bulk commodities along the Western Corridor is predominantly by means of the road network due to the poor state of the railways. The Western Railway Line has a very huge potential in terms of the haulage of both liquid and bulk cargo. For instance, current projected annual haulage on the Western Rail Line for manganese and bauxite is about 7mn and 15mn metric tonnes respectively. An additional 5mn metric tonnes of bauxite is estimated to be mined and transported annually from the new bauxite deposit at Nyinahin using the railway.
“The Bulk Oil Storage and Company Limited has also projected to haul over 1.5bn litres of oil products along the corridor. Other commodities that are transported along the Western Corridor include cocoa, timber, cement, among others which also have huge haulage potential based on their respective projected volumes. Rail transport is therefore critical to the success and achievement of all these traffic projections since it provides a cheaper and more efficient means of transporting such commodities.”
Ronnie Ntuli, chairman of Thelo DB, added, “The intention of this project is to develop, implement and operationalise the Western Railway Line as a fully integrated railway system to enable efficient mobility of freight and passengers. This will, in turn, catalyse investment, infrastructure development, promote trade, skills development and job creation thereby generating broader economic growth in Ghana, and hopefully, the broader West Africa region.”
