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 railway system in Ghana has historically been confined to the plains, south of the

barrier range and on mountains north of the city of Kumasi. However, the 1,067 mm

(3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway, totaling 935 kilometers, 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 were double tracked. Railways combine speed, carriage space and weight at

less expense over long distances than any other mode of land transport. In Ghana,

however, the railway subsector holds less than two percent of freight movement

alongside with a less than one percent of passenger carriage in the transport economy.

The Railway System in Ghana is set to undergo some tremendous transformation in the

coming years this follows the historical pact between the Government of Ghana,

Peatrak and Kampac Group of Companies to develop the country's railway

infrastructure to link the three Northern Regions of Ghana.

This is a landmark success in view of the fact that the country's railway system had

gradually diminished in its role as a major transporter, accounting for only four percent

of the country's bulk haulage activity.

The Ministry, Roads and Transport is developing and revitalising the infrastructural,

services and capacity of the rail sub sector in facilitating and enhancing domestic and

international trade for socio-economic development. Many developing railways have

been owned and managed directly by government ministries. While such a structure

has occasionally functioned well, it is usually severely handicapped by lack of

transparency, accountability or incentives for efficient customer orientation. This is

especially severe where the railway must cross-subsidize some services (typically

passenger, especially suburban) with others (freight), but also competes with private

sector carriers, particularly trucks and Buses.

A key to private sector participation in railways is separating rail transport activities. One

example is the separation of the ownership of fixed facilities (rails) from operations, as

was done in Sweden. While such separation does not require privatization it can also be

an effective way to make public operations more transparent and efficient.

There is no single recipe for promoting in railways. There are, however Different

circumstances which will tend to push a solution in one way or the other. First, there has

to be an effective private sector outside the railway; where this is not the case the role

for joint ventures will be limited until a private sector does develop. In Africa, for

example, most railways have failed to maintain their locomotives at a level which

permits efficient use; contracts with the private sector have proven to be a productive

way to attack the problem. Second, there must be at least a reasonable expectation of

competition among partners or suppliers in the private sector. Where the private sector

consists of a number of effective monopolies, it is questionable what PPP will actually

accomplish, other than bringing a better profit orientation to the railway.

Finally, the choice between concessioning or sale is also subject to degrees. In the case

of a railway that carries essentially one product (e.g., mineral ore) which is produced by

the private sector, or even a railway which carries predominantly freight, outright sale

may well be possible and desirable. Where the railway has a mix of passenger and

freight traffic, or where the prevailing political ethos forbids sale, the concessioning is

probably preferable.

Government responsibility continues citizens will continue to hold government

accountable for quality of utility services. Government will also need to retain sufficient

expertise, whether the implementing agency and/ or via a regulatory body, to be able to

understand the PPP arrangements, to carry out its own obligations under the PPP

agreement and to monitor performance of the private sector and enforce its obligations

Given the long-term nature of these projects and the complexity associated, it is difficult

to identify all possible contingencies during project development and events and issues

may arise that were not anticipated in the documents or by the parties at the time of the

contract.  It is also possible that some of the projects may fail or may be terminated prior

to the projected term of the project, for a number of reasons including changes

in government policy, failure by the private operator or the government to perform their

obligations or indeed due to external circumstances such as force majeure.  While some

of these issues will be able to be addressed in the PPP agreement, it is likely that some

of them will need to be managed during the course of the project