The sector minister for Railway Development, John Peter Amewu has given the assurance that government is committed to reviving the country’s once vibrant railway industry.

According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration has in the past four years injected enough resources in terms of expenditure which has been far better than 16 years of previous government’s expenditure.

During an inspection exercise of works on the Tema-Mpakadan railway line, the minister told journalists that the Akufo-Addo government will continue to inject adequate capital to revamp 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. The railway sector has been left in a state that nobody can talk about so this government’s agenda is to revamp it quickly. 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,” he added.

To improve interconnectivity within Ghana and Burkina Faso, the two West African countries in 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Ouagadougou to kick-start a railway project.

The project forms part of a 1,000 kilometer Tema-Mpakadan rail line which would link Ghana from Tema to Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou.

Former Minister for Railways Development Joe Ghartey in 2019 revealed that some 28 kilometers of track had been laid, while 40 more kilometers of the track were in line to completed.

When fully completed, the two countries would be connected with a modern standard gauge rail line.