By Akanimo Sampson
Ghanaian Railway Development Minister, John Peter Amewu, says the Burkina Faso – Ghana rail interconnection project implementation is set to begin next year.
Amewu was speaking during his two-day tour to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso where he went to soak up the level of implementation of the project in question, as the new minister of the railway department.
In order to respect the provisional timetable for the effective start of the implementation of the project, the two countries represented by the Ghanaian minister and Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré, the Burkinabe Prime Minister, agreed to finalise a certain number of actions during this year.
These include harmonising the tax and customs regime of the project, completing the issues related to the expropriation and compensation of landowners along the route, and above all completing the selection of a suitable contractor and the financial package for this project.
Conceived by the political will of the heads of state of the two West African countries, this rail megaproject will extend over nearly 1,100 kilometers, 29% of which will be on the Burkina Faso side and the rest in Ghana.
In Burkina Faso, the project will begin in Ouagadougou, passing through Kombissiri, Manga, Béguédo, Garango, Tenkodogo, Bagré-Pôle, Zabré, Pô, to the Dakola-Paga border link, a total distance of about 320 km.
In Ghana, it starts at the port of Tema, through the eastern part of the country towards the river port of Akosombo to serve Ho and Yendi in the north. The line then joins Tamale to cover the central region of the country and continue to Paga via Walewale, Bolgatanga, and Navrongo, for a total distance of 782 km.
It will have a total of 55 stations, 10 of which will be in Burkina Faso.
