China Railway Wuju Group Corporation (CRWG) has signed an agreement worth $500m to build a section of Ghana’s Standard Gauge Western line. The agreement was signed in Beijing by the Ghana Railway Development Authority.
Under the agreement, CRWG will build 100km of rail between the towns of Manso and Dunkwa in less than a year. A 22km section between Kojokrom to Manso was awarded to the Ghanaian engineer Amandi in 2017 and is under construction.
Joe Ghartey, the minister for railways, said the country’s system was in a "sorry state". He said: "The British, who colonised the Gold Coast, now Ghana, left behind an active railway network of 947km, which the present government is working hard to renovate, add more lines and coaches to make the sector more viable despite the less than 100 km operational rail network."
The existing network, with the dates it was built
A railway exists in eastern Ghana, but apart from the stretches between Accra to Nsawam and Accra to Tema, it is inoperative.
The country is also working on a public-private Eastern Rail project that will link the capital of Accra with the second city of Kumasi.
Earlier, the Ghanaian delegation visited a CRWG project site in Beijing to inspect its work.
Top image: Ghana is relying on PPP schemes to renew its rail network (GRDA)
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