In 2018, the government of Ghana signed an agreement with a South African group, Africa Investment (AI) SkyTrain Consortium, for the construction of the Accra Sky Train Project. The 194 km long Skytrain train tracks were meant to transport 400,000 passengers a year within Greater Accra. This raised Ghanaians’ hopes to the sky; finally, a bold solution had been found to the ever-increasing road traffic congestion in Accra, which threatened economic activity and the quality of life.
However, the project did not materialize, and the hopes of Ghanaians were dashed. In 2021, the Minister of Railways Development, Joe Ghartey at the time negotiations were held for the Sky Train Project suggested that the project was halted by lockdowns in Ghana and South Africa at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 which prevented the investors from meeting some conditions precedents for the project including conducting a full detailed study and costing.
In the same year, Ghana’s Minister of Railway Development, John Peter Amewu, stated that the project would not be completed in the next 3 to 4 years. He cited the high cost of building a railway line as the reason for the pragmatic reversal, stating that a kilometer of a railway line is four to five times the cost of building concrete infrastructure.
Ex-GIIF CEO and Prof. Ameyaw-Ekumfi charged
Today, May 14, 2025, the Attorney General’s Office has charged former board chairman Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi and Solomon Asamoah, the CEO of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, with involvement in the Accra Sky Train project, which allegedly cost the state $2 million.
Among the accusations are deliberate misappropriation of public funds, conspiracy to commit crime, and willful financial loss. In February 2019, the accused allegedly approved a $2 million payment from GIIF to Africa Investor Holdings Limited for preparatory work on the Sky Train project, which never materialized. It was reported that the payment was made without the appropriate board approval.
Even though Ghanaians do not seem fazed by this disappointment as though they saw this coming, it is clear from these revelations that the project was never meant to come to fruition, but was just a political gimmick, and there is no sign of hope for the sky train project, not now, maybe not ever.
