Following approval by Parliament, government has signed a loan agreement with the Export and Import Bank of India for the amount of $24.54 million for the Sugarcane Development and Irrigation Project.

The funds will be used to finance the development of an irrigation system and facilitate the cultivation of sugarcane to feed the Komenda Sugar Factory, which was completed and inaugurated by President John Mahama on May 30.

A total land acreage of 1,700 will be cultivated to produce 102,000 tonnes of sugarcane.

The loan facility has a 25-year maturity period with an interest rate of 1.5 per cent.

The second loan agreement is the $398.33 million facility for the construction of 84.8 kilometer Tema to Akosombo Railway Line Project.

The project when completed will address the imbalances between transport modes for long distance transit and domestic freight movements from Accra /Tema northwards and vice versa, in particular, freight movements via Tema Port.

The rail line project will reduce vessel waiting time, container dwelling times, reduction in freight transport cost with increased safety.

The implementation of the project will link Tema Port to the Lake Transport Network especially the north-south movement over a distance of about 400 km and open up the Lake Transport System of not only fuel and cement in limited quantities but also transit containerized cargo and agricultural produce.

This will go from the SADA enclave and Afram Plains to the Port of Tema and other destinations The Railway Link will provide cheaper, reliable and alternative means for passengers who are not served by the road transport system.

The construction, operations and maintenance of the Railway infrastructure is expected to provide direct and indirect jobs.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mona Quartey, signed on behalf of the government of Ghana.