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Government to rehabilitate railway lines
Sekondi, Jan. 15, Ghanadot/GNA -
Ninety (90) million dollars out of the 750 million raised
from the Eurobond has been earmarked for the rehabilitation
of the Western and Eastern Railway Lines, President John
Agyekum Kufuor, announced in Sekondi on Tuesday.
This, he said, would be undertaken in partnership with the
private sector.
President Kufuor, who was addressing the seventh edition of
the Peoples’ Assembly held at the Sekondi High School, said
the restoration of the lines should assure the mining
companies in the Western Region, especially the bauxite and
manganese mines of reliable railway system to support the
expansion of their operations.
Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, some senior Government
Ministers and Officials were present at the Assembly, which
had as its theme: "Ghana after 50: Looking into the Future
with Hope."
President Kufuor said the Government had taken the
initiative to correct the situation where the Western
Region, the richest Region in terms of natural and mineral
resources, was ignored in the past.
It has embarked on an aggressive road construction programme
to open up the Region and to transform and integrate it into
the nation's socio-economic development.
The length of its paved roads covering, trunk, feeder and
urban network has more than doubled from a total of 520
kilometres in the year 2000 to 1,096 in 2005.
This figure would definitely go up when the data for
2006-2007 are finally collated.
Unpaved roads also increased to 6,546 kilometres in 2006
from 829 kilometres in 2000.
ufuor said added to these, the
Takoradi Port was also undergoing modernization and physical
expansion to improve its capacity to handle larger volumes
of local and foreign business, especially those from
neighbouring landlocked countries like Burkina Faso, Mali
and Niger.
Other happy developments such as the completion of the West
Africa Gas Pipeline, which has a major terminal in
Sekondi-Takoradi, and the discovery of oilfields, were
coming together to make the Region even more attractive
destination for local and foreign investors.
He said with all these, the future was bright.
GNA
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