Freight transportation in Ghana: rail, road, ship and air

Ghana boasts of a conducive social, political and economic environment for investors to grow and be successful. With a host of resources at its disposal, Ghana lays emphasis on building on its natural wealth. Backed by an attainable reforms program and a fair and just political system the country offers limitless business opportunities to both domestic and international investors.

A strong and well-networked transport infrastructure adds credibility to Ghana’s logistics network.

Air Travel

With around 25 international airlines operating out of it, Ghana stands as one of the five sub-Sahara African countries that handle the highest volume of cargo in the sub-region with safety facilities, recommended practices and security standards intact.  

Ghana’s open skies policy with no restrictions on capacity, frequency, route and structure have made it the hub of national and international airline network  connecting Ghana to Africa and rest of the world.

An extended runway at the Accra airport ensures all types of aircraft are catered to allowing direct take off from Ghana airport with no stops en route.

An added attraction is the recent development of an adjoining Airport city complete with shopping malls, housing, hotels etc.   

Road Transport

Ghana’s road transport accounts for 96% of the total passenger and freight traffic. Most of the urban population prefers road transport. The usual practice is to hire private taxis, mini buses and state supported buses. 60% passenger movement happens through buses. Of late, Ghanaians have been favouring 30-70 seated medium and larger cars over mini-buses.

The Ghanaian government plans to increase private- sector participation in road construction. The overall traffic density is low barring big cities of Accra and Kumasi marked by heavy peak hour traffic.

Water Transport

The largest man-made lake called the Volta lake stretches from across northern Ghana to 200 km of its border with Burkina Faso.

The Ghana Corridor waterway that provides a low-cost alternative to rail and road transport between the north and the south of the country is by virtue of the Volta Lake.

The Volta Lake Transport Company that carries 88,000 tonnes of cargo annually. Northbound water transport carrier oil. The southbound barges carry agricultural produce like cotton lint, cottonseed, and shea nuts. A 300 passenger capacity vessel of VLTC also carries cargo.

Ghana’s seaports and inland lake transport system cater to the maritime needs of landlocked countries around to the north of Ghana.

Railway

The rail network of Ghana connects the three cities of Kumasi, Takoradi and Accra-Tema located in different directions. The rail network links the main agricultural and mining regions to the ports of Ghana and is used for hauling cocoa, timber, and minerals.

Ghana is working towards creating a more extensive rail network to handle up to 60% of solid and liquid bulk cargo haulage between the ports and the interiors/ landlocked neighbors of Ghana.

The future plan includes privatising the state-owned Ghana Railways Corporation  in order to render greater efficiency to the current railway system.  

All these add up to create a promising country data scenario in Ghana – a good support system for any business that requires an efficient distribution and transport set-up.

Share this article

Download our

Market entry approach

Read in detail how we conduct market entry projects, what steps we take and what you need to prepare.

    First name

    Last name

    Email address

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, our privacy policy, the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Market entry cases

    HCP – the sweetener company
    Plastinovo
    Verantis
    De Heus
    Apart Group
    Golden Red Trade Solution
    Le Joyau d’Olive
    Oklas
    RR Engineers
    Brabantia
    Topdesk
    CAN Home appliances
    Hydrologic
    Molarclean
    EEPC India