The contractor working on the 93km Tema – Mpakadan railway project, Afcons Infrastructure Limited from India, has said that about 50 per cent of the work is completed.
The Executive Director and Head of Surface Transport of the company, Mr Akhil Gupta, said considering the way work was progressing, the project could be completed by September 2020, that is, 10 months ahead of the July 2021 deadline.
Mr Gupta made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Sunday ahead of a sod-cutting ceremony for a rail bridge across the Volta River scheduled for today.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will perform the sod-cutting event. The Volta rail bridge will span 300 metres from Senchi to Mpakadan.
The Tema-Mpakadan Railway project is being funded by the Indian EXIM bank.
The Tema-Mpakadan railway line project forms part of the broader Ghana-Burkina Faso joint rail project that is expected to enhance transportation on the Volta Lake.
Mr Gupta said the management of Afcons Infrastructure Limited was committed to seeing the project through successfully considering the role the project would play in transforming Ghana’s economy and that of the sub-region.
“Having delivered over 300 large-sized infrastructure projects across India, Africa, and the Middle East, Afcons maintains a strong project delivery culture. The company completes its projects on time, or ahead of schedule,” Mr Gupta stated.
He added: “This railway project has been basically conceived as part of the multimodal transport infrastructure for Ghana. This means from the Tema Port, goods can be carried on this railway line to the Mpakadan Port from where it will be ferried on the Volta River to the northern part of the country.”
Mr Gupta said he was aware that the Ghana government had plans to construct a railway line from Buipe to Paga to link up to Burkina Faso.
“When this happens, Ghana will derive its share of revenue from the transportation of goods to its landlocked neighbouring countries, ” he said.
He commended the communities where the rail line passes for cooperating with the construction workers to ensure work was carried out smoothly.
He was optimistic that the spirit of cooperation would make it possible for the work to be completed without any challenges.
Mr Gupta said Afcons had undertaken some landmark projects across the world, including eleven countries in Africa.
