Minister for Railway Development, John Peter Amewu, has reaffirmed the government’s dedication to interconnecting railway systems with neighboring nations.
Amewu highlighted the ongoing efforts to modernize and extend the railway network throughout the ECOWAS region, emphasizing their progress.
During the launch of the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra, he mentioned the feasibility studies conducted for the Trans-ECOWAS line, linking Lome to Ivory Coast.
He also discussed a collaborative train project initiated by President Akufo Addo and his Burkina Faso counterpart, aiming to connect Tema, Mpakadan, Volta Region, Tamale, Paga, and Burkina Faso. However, this project faced setbacks due to a change in government in Burkina Faso.
Amewu highlighted the challenges, particularly in implementing such initiatives, including Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). He noted a significant viability gap of over $1.2 billion identified within the project.
Despite obstacles, he expressed optimism about the feasibility of a train route from Ghana to Nigeria, emphasizing the need to address the viability gap to make it achievable.
“Train from Ghana to Nigeria is possible, we’ve started train from Ghana to Burkina Faso so why not Nigeria? As and when we expand, and there is a lot of voting power there, it can be done” he concluded.
