The Minister for Transport and Member of Parliament for Saboba, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, has inspected ongoing works on the railway and port facilities at Mpakadan, as government moves to operationalise the facility as a key link in Ghana’s multimodal transport network.
The inspection formed part of the Minister’s working tour of major transport infrastructure across the country.
The Mpakadan facility is intended to connect the Tema Port, the Tema–Mpakadan railway and the Volta Lake transport system, creating an alternative route for moving cargo from the coast to inland Ghana and, ultimately, towards the northern parts of the country and landlocked countries in the Sahel.
Mr Nikpe said the development was critical to reducing the country’s dependence on road haulage and easing pressure on the road network.
“Mpakadan is strategically positioned to become an important link in Ghana’s intermodal transport network, connecting rail and inland water transport to facilitate the efficient movement of containers and other cargo,” he said.
He said the government remained committed to completing and operationalising the infrastructure to unlock its economic potential.
“I was impressed with the progress of work and encouraged the teams on site to maintain the momentum,” the Minister said.
Completing the missing link
The inspection comes at a time when attention has shifted from the completion of the Tema–Mpakadan railway to making the wider rail-lake-port system fully functional.
The approximately 97-kilometre Tema–Mpakadan standard-gauge railway was officially inaugurated in November 2024. It includes a 300-metre railway bridge over the Volta River and was developed as the first section of the Ghana-Burkina Faso railway interconnectivity project.
However, the viability of the railway for large-scale freight movement depends significantly on the development of the port and lake transport components.
In September 2025, Mr Nikpe, who was then Transport Minister, said the railway had been completed and that a test run had been conducted after repairs to a train involved in an earlier accident. He also noted that further investment in port infrastructure was required to facilitate the transfer of cargo between rail and the Volta Lake.
The latest inspection therefore points to efforts to bridge that infrastructure gap and turn Mpakadan into a functioning inland cargo hub.
Rail, lake transport to cut pressure on roads
The proposed system is expected to allow containers and bulk cargo arriving at Tema to be transported by rail to Mpakadan before being transferred onto barges for movement along the Volta Lake.
That arrangement is designed to reduce the volume of heavy trucks travelling long distances on Ghana’s roads, particularly along the eastern corridor.
The benefits could extend beyond road decongestion. The multimodal system is expected to lower freight costs, reduce road deterioration and improve the efficiency of cargo movement between Tema and the northern parts of the country. It could also strengthen the competitiveness of Tema Port by providing importers and exporters with an alternative inland route.
Mr Nikpe said the government’s objective went beyond domestic transportation.
“The transformation of Mpakadan into a functional intermodal transport hub will not only support domestic trade but also enhance Ghana’s capacity to serve as a transit and logistics hub for our landlocked neighbours,” he said.
Part of wider railway expansion
The Mpakadan development also fits into the Mahama administration’s broader push to expand Ghana’s railway and inland water transport infrastructure.
In July 2026, President John Dramani Mahama outlined plans to integrate rail and lake transport as part of an Eastern Corridor logistics strategy, including extending the Tema–Akosombo railway through the Dawa Industrial Area towards Keta and strengthening the Mpakadan facility for cargo movement along the Volta Lake.
Government has also directed the extension of the railway from Tema Port to the Dawa Industrial Enclave to facilitate cargo movement to the industrial area while work on the Mpakadan inland port progresses.
The longer-term ambition is to build a transport corridor capable of moving freight from Tema through the eastern corridor and the Volta Lake towards northern Ghana and neighbouring landlocked countries.
For Mpakadan, the immediate challenge is therefore not simply the existence of a completed railway line, but getting the rail, port and inland water transport components working together as one cargo system.
If successfully operationalised, the facility could position Mpakadan as an important inland logistics hub, while creating opportunities for trade, agriculture, transport services and employment along the corridor.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
