A TRADE BRIDGE FROM GHANA TO THE SAHEL
The plan involves transporting goods by train to Mpakadan, south of Lake Volta, from there by barge to Buipe, slightly north of the country's centre, and then by road to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
* The following is of crucial importance to investors:
• The Volta Economic Corridor aims to integrate this transport network with agriculture and industry.
The 97-kilometre Tema-Mpakadan railway has been completed.
However, preparations for freight transport and work on the transhipment port on the lake shore are still ongoing; it is too early to say that the entire route is operational. But it will certainly work.
Furthermore, some tenders related to this corridor will be held in the early months of 2027.
• What is my forecast?
If train, waterborne freight and lorry services operate in harmony, transport costs could fall.
Farmers could gain access to a wider market, and the strain on roads from heavy loads could be reduced. This is because one of the region's most significant problems is the rapid deterioration of the roads.
New jobs will be created in storage, maintenance and transport.
However, we must be cautious and strategic. Waiting at transhipment points and delays at borders could wipe out these gains.
True success will be measured not by how many vehicles the cargo changes hands between, but by how quickly and at what cost it reaches its destination from door to door.
This corridor is currently a quietly developing initiative for trade in West Africa.
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