Dr Thomas Mensah
US-based Ghanaian inventor Dr Thomas Mensah says he has started engaging concerned ministers to ensure the construction of high-speed trains in Ghana.
Dr Mensah said he was directed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to talk to the sector ministers in getting the idea into fruition.
The nanotechnology expert made this known on Saturday, when he appeared on TV3’s 20 by 20 programme.
“I am talking to all the sector ministers,” he stressed. “We will do the bullet train. We can do it in three years.”
Dr Mensah was convinced the construction of high-speed trains would completely change the economic status of Ghana.
“Once we build it, Ghana can become a developed country,” he told host Alfred Ocansey.
Obama advice
Dr Mensah said he gave the same advice to former US President Barack Obama in 2009, when he assumed power.
Since then, he reckons, a lot has changed for America.
He said China bought into the idea and in less than 10 years, they constructed 40 high-speed trains.
“The Indian PM has signed for high-speed train too,” he revealed, adding that the likes of Nigeria have also expressed commitment to get their cities connected by train.
But Dr Mensah says he wants Ghana to be the first country in West Africa to implement this idea and he is convinced President Akufo-Addo will want this done following his meetings with him.
Ghana’s railway system has not been the best
Currently, there is a special ministry for railways – Ministry of Railways – which is headed by Joe Ghartey.
Dr Mensah, who is the inventor of fibre-optics, emphasized that the construction of the trains will see Ghana attracting foreign direct investment.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana
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