Accra, Monday May 29, 2017 -, Hon. Charles Adu Boahen, a Deputy Minister of Finance on behalf of the Hon. Minister for Finance has signed “First Amendatory Buyer’s Credit Agreement” and “Credit Confirmation Statement” on the Tema to Akosombo Railway Line Project at the side lines of the African Development Bank Annual Meetings in India.
2. On 22nd November, 2016 the Government of Ghana represented by the then Hon. Minister of Finance signed a US$398.33 mn (Three Hundred Ninety-Eight Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-Three Thousand United States Dollars) credit facility provided by Exim Bank of India for the Construction of Tema to Akosombo Railway Line Project after receiving Executive and Parliamentary Approvals on 24th October and 31st October, 2016 respectively.
3. The “First Amendatory Buyer’s Credit Agreement” becomes necessary due to the change in interest rate for the facility and also change in the definition of “Buyer”.
4. The original Interest rate for this credit facility is 6 Months Libor + 1.75% which has been negotiated down to 6 Months Libor + 1.50% and there is change in the definition of “Buyer” from “Ministry of Transport, Government of the Republic of Ghana” to “the Ghana Railway Development Authority” since they signed the Contract Agreement with Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. of India who are the Contractors.
5. To enhance Economic and Bilateral ties between Ghana and India, the Exim Bank has proposed to sign a “Credit Confirmation Statement” with the Government of Ghana.
6. The overall objective of the Tema - Akosombo Railway Line Project is to address the imbalance between transport modes for long distance transit and domestic freight movements from Accra/Tema northwards and vice versa. In particular, freight (containerized and other bulk commodities) movements via the Tema Port.
7. It is envisaged that the initiative will provide an alternative to current transport solutions and improve existing port operations, resulting in reduced vessel waiting time, container dwelling times and increase the competitiveness of the Port, as well as lead to reduction in freight transport cost with increased safety. – END -