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According to a press release posted on the website of the Ghana News Agency, the three bidders are China Engineering Company No. 10, African Global Group and Frontline Advisors. The bidders are expected to submit their technical and financial proposals by mid-July this year (2021). This will enable the Joint Evaluation Committee set up by the governments of Ghana and Burkina Faso to evaluate the proposals and undertake a detailed analysis to determine which of the three (3) selected bidders to enter into negotiations with.

This railway line stretches from Mpakadaan in Ghana through Hohoe and Yendi to the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. The project is projected to begin in mid-2022 if all things go as planned. Both countries want this project to go off without a hitch and look forward to the project getting started. 

This railway line will also connect to the regional capital cities of Ho, Dambai and Nalerigu in Ghana, whilst in Burkina Faso, the railway alignment would go through major towns like Po, Zabre, Tenkodogo, and Manga. 

The project will boost trade between the two countries, and has the potential to accelerate the socio-economic growth and development of both Ghana and Burkina Faso. This is because the railway line will create an important connection between the port of Tema in Ghana and Burkina Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou.  

According to Ghana's Railways Development Minister, John Peter Amewu, the project is going according to plan. 

Burkina Faso's Minister of Transport, Urban Mobility, and Road Safety, Vincent Dabilgou, stated that the nation is looking forward to having this railway up and running. He said, “We in the Burkina Faso see this as an urgent project even more than Ghana, so our government is committed to it.

Mr Yaw Owusu, Acting Chief Executive Officer for Ghana Railway Authority (GRA), said originally, the project received twenty bidders, but screened down to three. He said the project was expected to be completed within five years.

According to Mr Owusu, the transportation of goods by road from Tema to Burkina Faso lasted about a week, however, after the completion of the railway, transportation of same goods would last approximately 12 hours.

Photo: Bidders’ Conference for the Ghana-Burkina Faso Railway Project (Ghana News Agency)