International Container Terminal For Paga

The construction of Accra-Paga-Ouagadougou international rail line will see to the establishment of an International Container Terminal at Paga in the Upper East Region, the Minister for Railways Development, Joe Ghartey, has disclosed.

As part of the government's plan to construct a rail line from Accra to Paga through Kumasi, Ho, Yendi and Tamale, the Ministry of Railways Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese construction company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), in April 2018.

At a meeting with the Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Ayine Bukari, chiefs, heads of departments and technocrats in Bolgatanga last Wednesday to give an overview of the masterplan of the rail line, Mr. Ghartey said the construction of the line comes with huge business opportunities for the people of the Upper East Region and all the other areas the line will pass through, which they must take.

He explained that the terminal will serve as a strategic business point that will meet international standards, where customs officers will be made to man and interact with business owners.

“There is a proposal with our ministry, where somebody wants to develop a container terminal; that station at Avenue [Accra], because all the goods that come to Accra from Tema, about 80% of them come to the light industrial area, and the proposal is that we will use train rather than car to bring there, that will take some of the traffic on the motorway, and so forth.

“So, I am also challenging you, not just the chiefs, but also the community at large and the business people, and so think about it and see everywhere the train will stop as a business opportunity, because it brings thousands of people to one place, and it takes thousands of people from the place. So, there is so much that can be done, and we have a plan that we will be bringing to Paga, for example, a major modern International Container Terminal at Paga, where the goods will be moving across the border, and our officials from customs and so on can interact and do business in a place that meets the standards of such places all over the world,” the Minister said.

According to the Minister, ground breaking for the commencement of the construction of the rail line will be done in between the end of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, after which the nearly 1,200 kilometres rail line will take between three and five years to complete.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Ayine Bukari, was hopeful the construction of the rail line will not only provide jobs for the people of the region, but will also boost economic activities.

He, therefore, urged chiefs and land owners whose areas the rail line will pass through to release land for the smooth construction of the project.

The Vice President of Upper East Regional House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba SalifuLemyaruum, assured the sector minister of the readiness of the chiefs in the region to make land available for the project.