Officials Discuss Ministry Of Ports, Harbours And Railways

The Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) is taking measures to revamp the corporation to enable rail transport to play its role in the development of the country.

In this direction, the company recently invested 1.2 million dollars to procure steel sleepers, rails and track tools, while about 50 existing passenger coaches are being rehabilitated, Mr Rufus Okai Quaye, Deputy Managing Director of Operations in charge of Administration, said. He was presenting a paper on the state of the corporation at a workshop on the strategic direction of the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways.

Mr Quaye said a local firm is being engaged to rehabilitate some wagons for the haulage of bauxite and manganese. He said consensus has been reached for the corporation GRCL to be concession as in Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroon, Brazil, Argentina and Burkina Faso with the expectation that the concessionaire would bring in the capital.

"Government would monitor and regulate their operations to fulfil their social and economic objectives including safety," he said. The government will still own the infrastructure and the concessionaire pays a fee to the government for using the infrastructure.

The Managing Director said the government would subsidise losses incurred by non-profitable passenger services through Public Service Obligation Agreement. However, he said, as part of a long-term plan there has been a proposal for the expansion of the existing rail network from the southern sector to the northern sector to pave the way for linking the country to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Mr Godwin Anim, Director of Tema Port, said the Takoradi and Tema ports that were built in 1929 and 1960 respectively have become woefully inadequate and obsolete as a result of technological development in cargo packaging.

These are the advent of containers with its attendant problems and phenomenal increase in vessel size calling for wider access channel and deep drafts for berthing. He said among other measures to develop the port, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority have plans to dredge approach channels and the port basin to accommodate third and fourth generation container vessels.