Ghana’s 560km rail to cost $2bn

China Railways Construction Corporation (CRCC) has offered to rehabilitate and construct a 560-kilometre standard gauge railway line for Ghana at $2 billion.

This costs is just $400 million more than the double-track Lagos-Ibadan railway line being constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The total length of the Lagos-Ibadan railway line from the Apapa Port is 380km — this includes the double-track 156km rail line (312km), 60km additional tracks within stations and an 8km extension to the Apapa Port.

The 560-kilometre standard gauge project is different from the one earlier reported by TheCable — the 340km standard gauge railway to be constructed by Ghanaian-European Railway Consortium (GERC) for $2.2 billion.

The proposed railway line will run through designated stations, including the terminals at Aflao and Elubo, when completed.

In addition to the construction, the Ghanaian government plans to establish assembly plants in at least two regions for the building of locomotive coaches and wagons that would constitute the rolling stock for Ghana Railways in the future.

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, signed the memorandum of understanding on March 21.

The Ghanaian government will not be funding the railway projects as the funding will be arranged by CRCC.

Also, Sinochem, an oil company in China, will provide up to $3 billion as funding of railway construction projects throughout the country, backed by crude oil futures.

Ghartey recently visited Nigeria at the invitation of Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, to inspect and assess the railway construction projects that the Chinese Conglomerate has completed and that are currently being undertaken in Nigeria.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to correct an error of fact.