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Transport in Ghana is accomplished by road, rail, air and water.Ghana's transportation and communications networks are centered in the southern regions, especially the areas in which gold, cocoa, and timber are produced. The northern and central areas are connected through a major road system.[1]
Increased transport investment helped to increase the number of new vehicle registrations and transportation alternatives include rail, road, ferry, marine and air.[1]
The railway system in Ghana has historically been confined to the plains south of the barrier range on mountains north of the city ofKumasi. However, the1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)narrow-gauge railway, totalling 935 kilometres (581 mi), is presently undergoing major rehabilitation and inroads to the interior are now being made. In Ghana, most of the lines are single tracked, and in 1997, it was estimated that 32 kilometres (20 mi) were double tracked.
In 2005, the Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways announced plans to extend the railway system to facilitate economic development. To begin, $5 million was invested for feasibility studies. Possible projects at the time included extending a line fromEjisu toNkoranza andTechiman; a line fromTamale toBolgatanga andPaga toBurkina Faso; a line fromWenchi,Bole toWa andHamile and also toBurkina Faso, and a line toYendi where there are iron ore deposits.[2]
Over the next two years, there were various studies[3] and in 2007, work began.[4]
In March 2007, a Private Public Partnership was proposed to rehabilitate the Eastern Railway from Accra toEjisu andKumasi, with an extension from Ejisu viaMampong,Nkoranza,Tamale,Bolgatanga andPaga, with a branch fromTamale toYendi andSheini. The extension starts atKumasi and will cost $1.6b.[5]
There was another proposal in September 2007 to extend the Western Railway fromAwaso viaTechiman,Bole,Sawla,Wa toHamile.[6]
In February 2008, theGhana General News reported that the Ministry of Harbours and Railways and the Ghana Railway Corporation (GRC) expected to complete a new commuter line linkingAccra andTema by June 2008. The formation was complete fromSakumono to the SSNIT flats near Tema. Diesel multiple-unit trainsets will be imported for use on the line.[7] Construction of sleeper plant for the far north line was also initiated in 2008.
The Ghana railway network occupies a totalrail route length andrail track length of 947 km and 1300 km, comprising nationalrail lines that do not go outside of Ghana and the Ghananational border.[8] Ghana railway network is limited to south Ghana and the southern part of Ghana within the Greater Accra region, Central region, Western region, Eastern region and Ashanti region of south Ghana.[8]
There are plans underway that revamp the operations of theGhana Railway Corporation andGhana Railway Company to make it more viable, and to attractprivate sector participation.[8]Concession agreements have been signed by the Ghana Railway Corporation for the development and extension of theGhana Eastern Rail Line and the rehabilitation of theGhana Western Rail Line.[8]
These towns are proposed to be served by rail:
Korean engineers studying the building of new lines in February 2007 were also to considerconversion to1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
Road transport is by far the dominant carrier of freight and passengers in Ghana's land transport system. It carries over 95% of all passenger and freight traffic and reaches most communities, and is classified under three categories of trunk roads, urban roads, and feeder roads.[17] The Ghana Highway Authority, established in 1974 is tasked with developing and maintaining the country's trunk road network totaling 13,367 km, which makes up 33% of Ghana's total road network of 40,186 km.[18]
Trunk roads in Ghana are classified as National roads, Regional roads, and Inter-regional roads, all of which form theGhana road network. National roads, designated with the letterN, link all the major population centers in Ghana. Regional roads, designated with the letterR, are a mix of primary and secondary routes, which serve as feeder roads to National roads; while Inter-Regional roads, designated with the prefixIR, connect major settlements across regional borders.
With respect to this mode of transport, many people prefer to use the public means. Many of the town and cities in the country can be reached by the use of urban buses known as "trotro" or taxis. For inter-regional transport bigger buses are normally used.
The Ghana road network is 64,323 km androad transportation is the most dominant choice of transportation in Ghana.[19] Road transport infrastructure in Ghana can be used throughout to facilitate the exchange of commodities and enable regular school attendance and fast access to health facilities in Ghana.[19] There has been an increased investment and expansion in the road transportation of Ghana,GH₵1 billion (US$500 million) in 2012.[20]
There is a GhanaianBus Rapid Transit, known asMetro mass Transit L.T.D, and aTaxicab system connecting the Ghanaian big cities among themselves, and aMinibuses system, known asTro Tros, connecting big cities with the country'srural areas and small towns.[19] TheGhana Police Service'sMotor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) and theGhana Highways Authority is responsible for the maintenance of theRoad Traffic Control of Ghana and theGhana Road Network (Ghana nationalhighways andmotorways).[21]
TheTrans–West African Coastal Highway, part of theTrans-African Highway network crosses Ghana along theN1, connecting it toAbidjan (Ivory Coast),Lomé (Togo) and toBenin andNigeria. Eventually the highway will connect to another sevenEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) nations to the west. TheN2, which connectsTema in the Greater Accra Region to Kulungugu in the Upper East Region; theN10, which connectsYamoransa in the Central Region to Paga in the Upper East Region; and theN12, which connectsElubo in the Western Region toHamile in the Upper West Region;[22] all connect Ghana to landlockedBurkina Faso, where it joins another highway in the Trans-African network, theTrans-Sahelian Highway.
TheVolta,Ankobra, andTano rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 kilometres of arterial and feeder waterway.
There are ferries on Lake Volta atYeji andKwadjokrom.
There are ports on the Atlantic Ocean atTakoradi andTema.Tema Port in South Ghana, officially opened in 1962, is the bigger of the two seaports in Ghana, and is Africa's largestmanmade harbour. It has a water-enclosed area of 1.7 square kilometres (0.66 sq mi) and a total land area of 3.9 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi).[23] Apart from handling goods for Ghana, it is also a traffic junction, where goods are transhipped, and transit cargo destined for the landlocked countries to the north of Ghana.[23]
The port of Tema handles the majority of the nation's import and export cargo and most of the country's chief exports is shipped from Sekondi-Takoradi and Tema.[23] The port of Tema has 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) ofbreakwaters, 12 deepwater berths, an outsizeoil tanker berth, a dockyard, warehouses, and transit sheds. The port has open and covered areas for the storage of cargo, including a 77,200-m2 (7.72-hectare) paved area for the storage of containers, steel products and other conventional cargo.[23] The port's container yard is capable of holding over 8,000TEUs at any given time. The closed storage area, which is about 25,049 m2 (2.51 hectares) in area, consists of six sheds with a total storage capacity of 50,000 tonnes of cargo. The port also includes a 100,000dwt dry dock and slipway facility.[23] The Tema andTakoradi harbours in South Ghana are operated by theGhana Ports and Harbours Authority.
There are six ships (with a volume of 1,000 gross tonnage (GT) or over) totaling 13,484 GT/18,583 tonnesdeadweight (DWT). This includes twopetroleum tankers and four refrigerated cargo vessels (1999 estimates).
Ghana'sVolta River,Ankobra River, andTano River provide 168 km of perennial navigation forlaunches andlighters, and Volta Lake provides 1,125 kilometres ofarterial and feeder waterway.[24] There are two main seaports in Ghana which are located in the southern coastal cities of Sekondi-Takoradi and Tema (Takoradi Harbour and Tema Harbour).[19] The strategicgeographical location of Ghana to the Volta Lake and the manyrivers of Ghana that provideinland transport make Ghana a very transitedsovereign state forfreighters.[25]
Inland watertransport in Ghana includes the movement ofpassengers byferry orwater taxis andcargo on rivers, lakes and other water bodies in Ghana and Ghana has aferry transportation system on Volta Lake atYeji andKwadjokrom.[25] The Volta Lake is the major inland water transport facility that is efficiently regulated to transport passengers and cargo.[25] The main transport service provider on the Volta Lake is the Volta Lake Transport Company Limited (VLTC).[19] TheGhana Ports and Harbours Authority andGhana Railway Corporation and theVolta River Authority collectively have oversight responsibility over theVolta Lake and the Volta Lake Transport Company Limited (VLTC).[19]
On July 4, 1958, the Ghanaian government establishedGhana Airways connecting Ghana with other countries. By the mid-1990s, Ghana Airways operated international scheduled passenger and cargo service to numerous European, Middle Eastern, and African destinations, including London, Düsseldorf, Rome, Abidjan, Dakar, Lagos, Lomé, and Johannesburg. As a result of persistent management and financial problems, Ghana Airways ceased all operations and entered into liquidation in 2004.[26]
Ghana has twelve airports, six with hard surfaced runways. The most important areKotoka International Airport at Accra and airports at Sekondi-Takoradi, Kumasi, and Tamale that serve domestic air traffic. In 1990, the government spent US$12 million to improve Accra's facilities. Workmen resurfaced the runway, upgraded the lighting system and built a new freight terminal. Construction crews also extended and upgraded the terminal building at Kumasi. In early 1991, the government announced further plans to improve Accra's international airport. The main runway was upgraded, improvements were made in freight landing and infrastructure, and the terminal building and the airport's navigational aids were upgraded.[26]
The first Ghanaianflag carrier was theGhana Airways which commenced operations in 1958; then ceased operations in 2005 and was succeeded by the Ghana International Airlines in 2005. Ghana has a vibrant airline industry and there are five mainairports in Ghana: Kotoka International Airport in Greater Accra, Kumasi Airport in Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi Airport in Western Ghana, Sunyani Airport in Sunyani, and Tamale Airport in Tamale. In addition, Ghana has a total of 8airports, of which the most transited is the Kotoka International Airport located in Accra, with a transit in 2009 of 1.2 million passengers.[27]
In 2005,Ghana International Airlines (GIA) began services as the new national airline of Ghana. GIA operatedBoeing 757 andBoeing 767 aircraft underwet lease arrangements with other airlines, and connectedKotoka International Airport in Accra withLondon Gatwick andDüsseldorf. After several years GIA also ceased operations. After the cessation of operations ofGhana International Airlines in 2010, major airlines of Ghana areAfrica World Airlines,Antrak Air,CTK – CiTylinK andStarbow Airlines which fly todomestic destinations in Ghana, around the world and to main flight points of the Africa continent. There are also some commercial airlines running domestic flights between the major cities in Ghana.[28][29][30][31] In 2010, Ghana planned for the revival ofGhana Airways to commencecommercial aviation.[32] At present there exists no Ghanaian airline providing long-haul international services.
Between 2009 and 2013, the number of air passengers in Ghana more than quadrupled.[33]
Kotoka International Airport
total:6
2,438 to 3,047 m:1
1,524 to 2,437 m:3
914 to 1,523 m:2 (1999 est.)
total:6
1,524 to 2,437 m:not true
1
914 to 1,523 m:3
under 914 m:2
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook.CIA.
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