UMaT partners with government to train railway students

The Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the George Grant University for Mining and Technology in Tarkwa to train students in the various specialized areas of the rail sector.

Speaking to the press in Accra on Wednesday, the information minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said: "In 2019, the school will begin to teach courses on topics related to railways , such as engineering, signaling, telecommunications and infrastructure. "

He explained that these courses and trainings were intended to help build a core of Ghanaian professionals in the rail sector.

In May 2018, the Minister of Railways, Joe Ghartey, said: "The Railway Development Authority needs trained people to be able to build rail infrastructure and maintain it."

Speaking at a ceremony that took place at the Old Railway School in Essikado, in the Western Region, Mr Ghartey said: "If we train students properly, jobs will remain in this country. We will not bring people from outside to come and do some things for us. We will use ours. "

Mr. Nkrumah added, "The Railway Localization Workshop is also being upgraded and will be equipped to become a one-stop shop to serve the rail, mining, oil and agricultural industries in Ghana."

He mentioned that two of the seven workshops were rehabilitated in 2018.

The Minister of Information also said that many railway works under construction were nearing completion.

He added that the rehabilitation of the section of the line from Achimota to Tema is about 90% complete and that testing has begun.

In addition, the Ghana Railway Company Limited, which has its own staff, has started the rehabilitation work of the 70.8 km narrow-gauge section of the East Railway line connecting Accra to Nsawam. and from Accra to Tema.

"The procurement process to develop a new standard gauge line for the East Railway line over a distance of about 340 km is underway. It goes from Accra-Tema to Kumasi with a Busoso branch in Kyebi, "Nkrumah said.

According to him, eight consortiums submitted their latest offers on 11 October.

"The government will complete negotiations with the most preferred concessionaire before the end of this year to develop the project on a construction, operation and transfer (BOT) basis," Nkrumah said.