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The Government of Ghana is conducting feasibility studies on an integrated light rail system, Minister-designate for Rail Development John Peter Amewu announced in Accra on Wednesday.
Light rail or light rail (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transport that generally has lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and subway systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional tram systems that they circulate through the streets.
The term is used to refer to rail systems with rapid transit style characteristics that generally have electric wagons operating primarily on private rights-of-way separated from other traffic, but sometimes, if necessary, mix with other traffic on the roads. streets of the city.
The Designated Minister, who held the Energy, Land and Natural Resources portfolios in the first term of the government led by Akufo-Addo, was appointed Minister of Railway Development.
“Feasibility studies are currently underway,” the Minister-designate told the Parliament Appointments Committee, at Parliament House, Accra, where the Committee was under review.
He told the Commission that the Government was studying the system and would provide details in due course.
Mr Amewu said the lines of the interconnected railway proposed by Ghana, which starts in Accra, through Tema and Hohoe, where he is the Member of Parliament, and Tamale continues from Bolgatanga to Ouagadougou ”.
According to Amewu, a kilometer of railroad costs between $ 6 million and $ 7 million.
He described encroaching on land belonging to the Ghana Railways Authority as a serious problem, but added that it was more profitable to acquire other land than to demolish structures on invaded land, while measures are taken to protect the rest.
Mr. Amewu promised to take steps to continue building on the work of his predecessor, and assured the Committee that if approved, the Ministry will take steps to build a railway line connecting Kumasi to Tema through the inland port of Boankra.
The Committee also questioned the Minister-designate about the death threats he issued to the opposition-side MPs on the opening day of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, and other alleged threats, to which he apologized and promised not to repeat them.
“These are still stages of learning; I don’t expect it to happen again, ”said the Designated Minister.
On the failed Power Distribution Service (PDS) deal last year, Ex Energy accepted responsibility for the failed concession deal and said that even though the cabinet made the decision to terminate the deal, it holds itself responsible as he was minister of the sector at that time.
“As a sector minister at the time, I am responsible for the assets and reliability of the ministry and therefore, yes, although it was a cabinet decision, yes, I take responsibility,” said the designated minister.
The government suspended in July the concession for the operation and maintenance of the assets and facilities of the Ghana Electricity Company (ECG) awarded to PDS.
The designated Minister assured that there was no imminent threat of judicial debt in that repealed agreement.
“There will be no judgment debt in the future, Mr. Amewu.
On the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) debacle, he stated that he was confident that he would have gotten more votes in the Hohoe constituency if eligible voters in the newly created Guan constituencies had voted in the constituency during the parliament of 2020. election.
“I sympathize with my SALL brothers and sisters for not participating in the parliamentary elections. I entered the elections as a player and not as a referee. I did not establish the rules that were in force for me to come to dispute, ”said Amewu.
He added: “I entered as a contestant and sadly, for one reason or another, they weren’t allowed to vote in Hohoe. I sympathize with them and would have been happy if the people of SALL had voted because, in 2004 and 2008, those were my strongholds. If they had voted, I would have even won by a larger margin. “
He denied having confiscated the bulldozers during his tenure as Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, explaining that the bulldozers were removed and not seized.
“While I was Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, I never confiscated any excavators. What I did when I was minister of that sector was to request the removal of excavators from mining sites. Approximately 500 were removed from the sites, but they were not seized, ”Amewu said.
