Government will on Monday July 25 sign an agreement with Thelo DB consortium to enter into a US$3.2billion transformational Western Railway Line Project agreement.

The signing ceremony will take place at the ministerial programme to be hosted by the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) secretariat at Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

Ronnie Ntuli, Chairman-Thelo DB said: “The Western Railway Line Project will transform Ghana’s existing railway infrastructure base into a modern, robust and integrated railway system, with the associated infrastructure to position Ghana’s rail network as a leading transport system in Africa”.

The project includes Planning – which comprises all project preparation-related activities such as feasibility studies, demand analysis, preliminary and detailed design, and procurement consulting.

Project Implementation consists of systems engineering design, construction supervision, design review, audit systems engineering, testing and commissioning of rolling stock and infrastructure, as well as Operations and Maintenance Management as early train operators, consulting services in terms of infrastructure operations, rolling stock operations, infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance.

Speakers at the signing ceremony will include President Nana Akufo-Addo; John-Peter Amewu, Minister for Railways Development; Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry, South Africa; Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat; Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group; Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank; and Mr. Ronnie Ntuli, Chairman-Thelo DB.

Thelo DB is a South African railway entity incorporated between Thelo Ventures, an African industrial company, and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn Engineering & Consulting (DB). The Thelo DB consortium also includes Ghanaian partner, Transtech Consult.