By Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Accra, Nov. 13, GNA – The Government will use petroleum revenues and mineral royalties in 2027 and 2028 to finance the construction of the Western Corridor Railway Line.
The financing arrangement will follow the model adopted for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, with proceeds from the two revenue sources dedicated to the railway project.
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister of Finance, announced this when he presented the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday.
“Mr Speaker, we will build the Western Corridor Railway Line from Takoradi through Nsuta and Awaso to Nyinahin with our own money.
“Just as we pledged for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, we will not borrow to build this railway,” he said.
The proposed railway will link Takoradi Harbour in the Western Region to the Nyinahin bauxite enclave in the Ashanti Region, passing through Nsuta and Awaso.
Dr Forson said President John Dramani Mahama had tasked the Ghana Armed Forces to secure the right of way for the project, while feasibility studies, engineering designs, cost estimates and environmental and social assessments were ongoing.
He said the railway was expected to facilitate the development of the country’s bauxite and manganese deposits, which had remained largely untapped because of inadequate rail infrastructure.
The Minister said Ghana had an estimated one billion tonnes of bauxite deposits at Awaso and Nyinahin, adding that rail infrastructure and energy supply were needed to support local processing of the resources.
“For decades, the lack of adequate rail infrastructure has left much of our bauxite and manganese stranded,” he said.
Dr Forson said the railway would facilitate the exploitation of the mineral resources for national development and job creation.
He said the railway was one of two major infrastructure projects the Government intended to finance with natural resource revenues.
The other was the 198.7-kilometre, six-lane Accra-Kumasi Expressway, for which the Government had accumulated funds in a dedicated account at the Bank of Ghana.
He said the account held US$2.2 billion and GH¢9 billion as of November 11, 2026.
Dr Forson said the engineer’s construction estimate for the expressway, following feasibility studies, engineering designs, costing and environmental and social assessments, was US4 billion.
The estimate included contingencies, supervision, land acquisition and compensation.
He said tenders had been issued through international competitive tendering, with the process expected to conclude by the end of 2026.
Contract prices would be determined through the competitive process, while all awards would be subject to commitment control approval and value-for-money assessments.
“We promised to secure the financing. We have done so. Promise made, promise fulfilled,” he said.
Dr Forson said the estimated savings of more than US$1 billion on the expressway project would be sufficient to construct the proposed Accra Orbital Expressway.
He said feasibility studies, engineering designs, costing and environmental and social assessments for the orbital expressway were ongoing.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey