For the groundbreaking Western Railway Line Project, the Thelo DB consortium will sign a framework agreement with the government.
On July 25, 2022, the signing ceremony will take place at the Ministerial Program that the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat is hosting in Accra, Ghana. In a statement released yesterday, Ronnie Ntuli, Chairman of Thelo DB, stated: “The Western Railway Line Project will transform Ghana’s existing rail infrastructure base into a modern, reliable, and integrated rail system, with the associated infrastructure to position Ghana’s rail network as a leading transport system in Africa.”
Project preparation activities include feasibility studies, demand analyses, preliminary and detailed designs, procurement consulting, systems engineering design, construction supervision, design review, audit systems engineering, testing and commissioning of rolling stock and infrastructure, early train operators, consulting services in terms of infrastructure operations, rolling stock operations, infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance.
At the signing ceremony, speakers will include Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, John-Peter Amewu, minister for railway development in Ghana, Ebrahim Patel, minister of trade and industry in South Africa, WamkeleMene, secretary general of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Afreximbank’s President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Professor Benedict Oramah, and Mr. Ronnie Ntuli, Chairman of Thelo DB, round out the group. An African industrial business called Thelo Ventures and the German company Deutsche Bahn Engineering & Consulting joined together to form Thelo DB, a South African railroad corporation (DB). Transtech Consult, another Ghanaian partner, is a member of the Thelo DB consortium.