Speaking at a town hall meeting in Ho on the second day of a tour of the Volta Region, Mahama said the government would extend the Tema-Akosombo railway line through the Dawa Industrial Area in Greater Accra to Keta, where a new port is planned. Officials are calling the project the Eastern Corridor Railway.
The extension is part of a broader Ghana Railway Master Plan intended to shift more heavy cargo transport from road to rail, Mahama said, arguing that this would ease pressure on the country's roads.
"Excessive axle loads will shorten its lifespan," Mahama said of road infrastructure, adding that heavy trucks impose a substantial burden on Ghana's highways.
The Tema-Akosombo line was previously financed by the Export-Import Bank of India during an earlier Mahama administration. He said the government would build on that line to strengthen a port at Mpakadan and support a newly built private port at Asikuma, with both intended to connect Lake Volta communities to Buipe in northern Ghana via barge and rail.
The bridge forms part of the government's $10 billion "Big Push" infrastructure programme and will include a dual carriageway, pedestrian and cycling lanes, a rest stop and toll facilities, according to the presidency.
Engineering designs for the planned Keta Port have been completed, Mahama said, and the government is currently reviewing proposals from more than 20 potential investors as it looks to develop the wider Eastern Economic Corridor.
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