THE government of Ghana has signed a concession agreement with Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund and Africa Investment SkyTrain Consortium Holdings to develop a world-class mass transport system in Ghana’s capital Accra.
Accra SkyTrain system
The $3bn Accra SkyTrain system will be the first of its kind in Africa. A SkyTrain is an elevated air-propelled light rail system that uses rails and steel wheels on an elevated runway for low drag and energy optimisation. Sponsors of the project include Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund and South Africa-based Africa Investment SkyTrain Consortium Holdings, for which a feasibility study was recently completed.
In addition, the agreement marked the next step towards the completion of a bankable feasibility study. The African Investment SkyTrain Consortium comprises project development company Bunengi Group, construction engineering company Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon and Ai Capital, the investment and financing arm of the Ai Group.
Ghana Investment Promotion Centre CEO Yofi Grant, speaking during the 2019 Africa Investment Forum, in Sandton, South Africa, said that they are confident the project will come to financial close by this time next year so as to allow construction works to kick off soon after.
Funding the project
Grant added that several parties had expressed interest in funding the project through a combination of equity and debt as sponsors are keen to secure additional funding for the development.
Solomon Asamoah of Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund said the project will create 5,000 jobs during construction and more are expected to be employed considering the system’s multiplier effects and property growth around the transport system. Asamoah added that the SkyTrain would bypass existing infrastructure, therefore, making it easier and cheaper to deploy while operating in an environmentally-friendly manner
‘We desire our cities to be green and modern, this project will take us there,’ said African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina.