The Head of Freight and Logistics at the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Fred Asiedu-Dartey has said the completion of the Tema-Akosombo railway project will boost transit trade.

He said, the project, which is a component of the 1,000 km Ghana-Burkina railway interconnectivity project, will fast-track key requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the GSA and the shippers’ councils of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to facilitate inter-country trade.

Mr. Asiedu-Dartey added that the project will also relatively reduce the cost of transportation of goods and serve the interest of transit shippers and shippers in the northern part of the country.

He said this during a tour to monitor the state of progress of the railway project on October 14, 2020 by members of the Port Infrastructure Committee (PIC) of the Governing Board of the GSA.

The 97-kilometer railway stretches from Tema to Mpakadan and is being funded by the Indian EXIMBANK at a cost of $447 million. The project, which comes with the construction of six-passenger stations and a freight terminal in the Tema Port, is part of the national railway plan to construct over 4,500 km railway across the country.

The Director of Port of Tema, Sandra Opoku who is also a Member of the Board of GSA, said the construction of the Tema-Akosombo railway will significantly reduce the movement of cargo by road, particularly to the northern part of the country.

The Deputy Chief Executive of the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL), Dr. Michael Adjei-Anyetei said plans are far advanced for Ghana to take over the management of the project after its completion.