No mineral concession for railway project -Minister

Harbours and Railways Minister Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi has rejected media reports that his Ministry has granted mineral concessions to Kampac group of companies developing the western railway lines.

"We do not have the power to grant mineral or mining concession to any company, in fact it is not within our mandate to grant mineral concessions to any company."

Professor Akumfi said this on the sidelines, of the presentation of the report of the Committee of Enquiry into the April 2006 Volta Lake Boat Disaster in Accra.

According to the Minister "It is unfair for any body to allege without crosscheck that government or for that matter Harbours and Railways Ministry has granted a mineral concession to any company, we cannot do it and will never do that without recourse to the appropriate authorities," said the visibly disturbed Minister.

Ameyaw Akumfi said his Ministry has awarded the construction of the western railway lines to Kampac group of companies on a Build- Operate- Transfer basis. Government, he said, has not incurred any cost in this transaction and has not sunk in a pesewa into the railway contraction project.

The former Education Minister, obviously unhappy about media reports of his unilateral award of a mineral concession to Kampac company to mine in the western corridor and use the proceeds for the construction of a railway line linking the western region to the three northern regions, also described as false reports that Ghana Railway Company has been handed over to the company free of charge.

According to him, the railway construction firm will initially pay a concession fee of $10m to government and make an annual percentage payment to the State.

Kampac he said has mobilised a consortium to fund the railway project and will manage Ghana's Railway for 35 years.