China Railways Construction Corporation (CRCC); the leading Chinese Construction Conglomerate, has offered a way to the Ghanaian government to assist in rehabilitating and constructing a 560 km standard gauge railway line. The proposed railway line will run through designated stations, including the terminals at Aflao and Elubo, when completed.
In addition to the rehabilitation and construction of the 560 km Eastern Region railway line, the Ghanaian Government plans to establish Assembly Plants in at least two regions of Ghana for the building of locomotive coaches and wagons that would constitute the rolling stock for Ghana Railways in the future.
The Minister of Railway Development, Hon. Joe Ghartey, Dou Yisuo representing CRCC and Henry Djaba Jnr, a millionaire financier who is the Managing Director of Lakeland Group of Companies, who are the local content partners of CRCC, all agree that the construction of the Assembly Plants will involve the investment of over a billion US Dollars in Ghana over the period of construction of the Assembly Plants. The Minister of Railways was quick to point out the many benefits of the planned Assembly Plants for the employment of Ghanaian Engineers and others as a welcome boost to the country’s economy.
The good news for Ghana is that the Ghanaian Government will not be funding the railway projects as a result of the memorandum of understanding they have with CRCC concerning the funding for the Railway line construction. The funding will be the responsibility of CRCC. Besides CRCC, another Chinese Company, Sinochem, one of the largest Oil Companies in China, is equally prepared to provide up to $3 billion as funding of railway construction projects throughout the country, backed by Crude oil.
Meanwhile, Nigeria and CCECC, a subsidiary of CRCC, also signed a $2bn Agreement to build a 156 km railway line between Lagos and Ibadan, in 2016, which faced some delays, until march 2017, when a ground breaking ceremony finally took place.The same amount is what Ghana has signed an MOU with CRCC to build a 560 kilometre railway line in Ghana for the same contract price of $2bn, which Nigeria is spending on its 156km railway line.
Hon. Joe Ghartey, Ghana’s Minister of Railway Development who visited his Nigeria recently, on the invitation of Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of Transport, specifically inspect and assess the railway construction projects that the Chinese Conglomerate has completed and that are currently being undertaken in Nigeria, as they are strikingly similar to those proposed by Hon. Minster Ghartey to be constructed in Ghana, and he was evidently impressed by the standard of construction achieved.