The Minister of public private partnerships (PPP) of Ghana, the Honorable Dr.Rashid Pelpuo (MP), through the Office of the President, has recently exclusively engaged Chesterfield Faring Ltd. (CFL) to devise a request for proposal (RFP) to develop two rail PPP projects:

• An elevated light rail mass transit commuter system connecting a newly developed trade zone and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to the Accra Airport and

•  A high speed rail project from Accra to Kumasi.

The rail project is expected to allow traffic to arrive from Accra to Kumasi line in less than 1.4 hours from station to station.

The RFP shall cover a 120,000 m² TOD in Accra plus a 65,000 m² TOD in Kumasi.  Each TOD will include shopping, public and private parks and gardens, office towers, a hotel with conference spaces, and the balance residential towers (1,000 units) with full amenities.  Each TOD may induce other developments in the locale.

Initial estimates for Phase 1 of the RFP is US$12 billion growing to US$30 billion over the balance of the decade.  Bids will be considered after the master plan of the rail and TOD are completed in the RFP.

Mr. Lawrence J. Selevan, the CEO of CFL, visited with the Honorable Dr. Pelpuo last week in Accra, Ghana.  During his stay, Mr. Selevan met with the Departments of Transportation, Housing, and Finance to coordinate the underwriting of the RFP.  In a quote from Mr. Selevan:

"I believe that Ghana is ready for a state of the art mass transit system that will speed up the commute for millions of everyday citizens in both Accra and Kumasi.   Also, the USD $30 billion should have a 3.0-3.5 multiplier effect increasing immediate economic activity to almost USD $100 billionbefore the end of the decade, as well as the aftermath of the investment; increasing GDP by almost 3% per annum, growing to over USD $2.0 billion annually.  The immediate impact will be apparent as vehicular congestion allows more access and an easier flow of traffic, both for commuters and freight transportation."

The Honorable Dr. Pelpuo remarked,

"We sought out the best firm with the greatest vision to improve the everyday lives of all of our citizens through an improved affordable transit system.  We will be building beautiful sustainable 'cities within our city' that will be a model for all of Africa into the future."

Mr. Earl N. Caldwell II and Mr. Kevin A. Copeland of The Catalyst Group, a Ghanaian based real estate developer, has provided local guidance to CFL to navigate the local markets, demand drivers, and interpreted the macro vision for the RFP.

Yesterday we reported that Abengoa's desalination project in Accra had begun commercial operations. The Accra plant is the first of its kind in Ghana, and it has the capacity to desalinate 60,000 m³ of sea water per day. The project has been developed on a DBOT basis. The concession period is 25 years and the total project investment is estimated at US$ 126 million.