President John Dramani Mahama has identified Western Corridor railway expansion as Ghana’s immediate rail priority, outlining plans to move mineral and agricultural cargo to Takoradi Port and eventually connect the network to Burkina Faso.
Speaking during an engagement with students at the Russian University of Transport in Moscow, he said the government wanted freight volumes to support the railway’s commercial viability before extending it further inland.
The proposed route would continue to Kumasi, then northwards to Hamile, with an eventual connection to Bobo-Dioulasso, an industrial city in Burkina Faso.
Freight traffic to underpin investment
President Mahama said Takoradi’s role in handling cocoa, manganese and bauxite exports made the western route an important starting point for rebuilding the railway network.
The intention, he explained, was to develop sufficient carrying capacity to move those commodities to the port and generate revenue from the service.
“We want to develop the rail network to be able to carry the volumes down to the port so that it can pay for itself,” he said.
He also identified lithium among the minerals the expanded network could transport for processing or export.
His comments presented freight demand as the economic foundation of the project, with further extensions intended to serve domestic production and regional trade.
Burkina Faso link envisaged
The President said the proposed connection through Hamile would offer landlocked Burkina Faso a dedicated route for moving imports from Ghana’s coast.
Cargo travelling in the opposite direction could include cotton and other raw materials destined for export through Takoradi.
He described the cross-border link as part of the longer-term ambition, rather than a completed connection.
Network to grow in phases
President Mahama acknowledged the poor condition of Ghana’s railways, saying much of the inherited colonial network had seen limited development.
“I’m ashamed to say our railway is in a very poor state,” he told the students.
He said a railway master plan provided for expansion across the country, but implementation would have to proceed in stages.
“We can only do it in phases. We cannot do it all at once,” he said.
The President also described Russia as a longstanding friend of Africa, citing its opposition to colonialism and apartheid, and called for stronger solidarity.
His university engagement formed part of his Moscow visit. At the institution, he also advocated cooperation with Ghanaian universities in railway development, transport engineering, logistics and professional training.
