Boankra Inland Port cannot operate without railway lines – MP laments

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport has embarked on a working visit and inspection at the ongoing Boankra Inland Port within the Ejisu Municipality in the Ashanti Region to ascertain firsthand information on the progress of work done and challenges as part of their oversight responsibility.

Addressing the media at the project site, the Ranking Member of the Select Committee, Hon. Isaac Adjei Mensah, urged the government to construct the Accra-Kumasi railway line to make the Boankra Inland Port operate fully and achieve its purpose.

“I think it’s important to note that this project cannot have its objectives realized until the railway is connected. So, it means that if we finish the inland port, it cannot be operationalized until the railway has also been constructed,” he stated.

The Public Procurement Authority has approved the project, but the Wasa East Constituency MP still encouraged Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the Minister of Transport, to take the necessary actions to regularize the contract of Justmoh Company Limited.

He recommended that the consultant and contractor conduct further community outreach and engagement with chiefs and residents, and also employ local youth to prevent property damage and maintain a secure construction site.

Hon. Mensah commended the exceptional work done by Ghanaian engineers, highlighting that the project’s consultant and contractor are all local experts.

The Boankra Inland Port, which is close to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, is being developed by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and private sector partners.

In order to promote commerce and economic development, this strategic infrastructure project seeks to create a key connection between the ports of Tema and Takoradi and the country’s interior as well as the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

The committee members, who were not thrilled with the project’s speed, begged the government to pay the contractor whose Initial Production Checks (IPCs) had not been honored since November 2023 through the Ministry of Transport.

The Chairman of the Committee emphasized the necessity of paying the contractor to proceed with the project and complete it on schedule, given the significant advantages the nation stands to gain from it.

Members of the Committee were reassured by Mr. Justice Amoh, the Managing Director of Justmoah, of the company’s commitment to completing the project by the planned completion date of 2026.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Nana Kwaku Boffah