China-Ghana 19bn bauxite deal must include High Speed Rail System - Thomas Mensah

“If you type information on your electronic gadget such as smart cellphone, laptop or personal computer and want to email it or send it to anyone in the world you are relying on the intelligent design of Fiber Optics for this objective. If you want to send instagram and Facebook pictures or even watch Youtube videos on any smart device,Fiber Optics paves way for this connectivity, even your cellphone conversation are transmitted long distance by this media”.

One of the four inventors of Fiber Optics, Dr. Thomas Mensah, four developed the technology after his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology together with three other. A native of Ghana, Dr Mensah is pushing for the development of a High-Speed Rail System For Ghana.

The World Infrastructure expert, Dr. Mensah in an exclusive interview with ONTV expressed that while China engages Ghana in the US $19B bauxite development deal which includes a smelting facility, the country must employ China to include the High Speed Rail System as part of the package. Dr. Thomas Mensah has served on the US High-Speed Rail Board.

The Dr. Mensah High-Speed Rail System For Ghana



Dr. Mensah disclosed, he believes that “a recent article in Moody’s disparaging the bauxite deal as excessive debt will not hold water if Ghana has the High-Speed Rail System that can modernize the transportation infrastructure in the country as part of the deal”.

“The proposal is also in line with the current government ‘one factory, one district plan said Dr. Mensah who felt his proposed HRS corridor from the south to north of the country can actually exceed this goal by having the potential to “creating 4 factories per district along the Rail route to supply to the construction and operation of the HRS. I see factories set up to build among other things plastic, and composites for the interior of the high-speed trains as well as possibly aluminum parts for the train itself” he explained.

“This proposal has the potential to create a major Technology Transfer to Ghana, with all its Universities participating by supplying engineering, science and other graduates for the future operation and maintenance of the HRS System“, according to Dr. Mensah. Ghana will be the third country in Africa after Ethiopia and Morocco to have HRS if Dr. Mensah’s proposal materializes and is implemented in Ghana. It will transform Ghana to a well-developed country with value-added export capabilities.

High-Speed Rail System coupled with High-Speed Internet

As part of his presentation, Dr. Mensah also proposed the installation of fiber optic cable along the HRS line so passengers can connect to WiFi in the train while it travels long distances at speeds between 200-300 MPH. “I want a two-year-old in a village in Ghana to be able to learn from the tablet just like a two-year-old in the US, Europe, and the developed world”, he said followed by great applause from the conference participants.

“I believe this HSR proposal could also help solve the huge infrastructure deficit in Ghana” that has impeded huge foreign investments, in the country, he added.

Several prominent engineers and scientist according to Dr. Mensah who were trained in the US have returned to their respective countries to help develop the technology infrastructure base and today some of these countries like China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and India are exporting Cars, Satellites, Smartphones, Ships, High-Speed Trains, and Aircraft products.“I Am not interested in complaining about the inconveniences of the system in Ghana, I rather want to become part of the return to Ghana movement to assist with fast-tracking its development”, said Dr. Mensah

High-Speed Rail could be ‘significant legacy’



A significant legacy of transportation infrastructure development can be realized for Ghana through the HRS as the nation prepares to enter the 21st Century. Dr. Mensah said, he will be “happy to see Members of Ghana’s Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Vice President Bawumia, and His Excellency President Nana Akufo Addo and their grand-children get on this High-Speed Rail System.”, when implemented. The HSR proposal will address unemployment in Ghana especially for the youth and graduates of Universities in Ghana and bring a major Economic development to the Nation.

Dr. Thomas Mensah has authored 4 books on innovation, they are: Fiber Optics Engineering (1987), Superconductor Engineering (1992), his 2013 autobiography ‘The Right Stuff Comes in Black Too’, and ‘Nanotechnology Commercialization, an International Text Book’ (2017), is a holder of 7 US Patents awards in a space of 6yrs. He is a Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics.