The China Railways Construction Corporation (CRCC) has agreed to construct a 560km standard gauge railway line in Ghana at $2 billion, the same contract price as the 156km railway line between Lagos and Ibadan.
In 2016, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), a subsidiary of CRCC, had also signed a $2 billion agreement with the Nigerian government to build a 156 km railway line between Lagos and Ibadan.
A ground-breaking ceremony for the construction held in March 2017.
The railway line construction in Ghana will be funded by a credit facility from the China Development Bank (CDB).
Sinochem, an oil company in China, is also going to provide $3 billion as funding for railway construction projects. The funding is to be backed by crude oil futures.
The agreement was signed by Joe Ghartey, Ghana’s minister of railway development; Dou Yisuo representing CRCC and Henry Djaba Jnr, the managing director of Lakeland Group of Companies, who are the local content partners of CRCC.
When completed, the railway line will run through designated stations, including the terminals at Aflao and Elubo.
In addition to the rehabilitation and construction of the 560km Eastern Region railway line, the Ghanian government plans to establish assembly plants for the building of locomotive coaches and wagons that would constitute the rolling stock for Ghana Railways.
Ghartey, Ghana’s minister of railway development, recently Nigeria on the invitation of Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria’s minister of transportation, inspect and assess the railway construction projects that the Chinese Conglomerate has completed and that are currently being undertaken in Nigeria.
Source: The Cable
