Dr Thomas Mensah, one of the speakers at the 2017 Ghana Diaspora Homecoming Summit (DHS) held from July 5-8., 2017 at the Accra International Conference Center has called on Ghana to develop a High-speed Rail System (HRS) to link two of the nation’s important port cities; Accra and Takoradi in the South, to Tamale passing through Kumasi.
President Akufo-Addo of Ghana launched the conference as its first presenter, he was followed by several leaders of government including cabinet ministers, a presentation was read on behalf of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumiah. There were other presenters of the Ghanaian Diaspora from countries like Great Britain, Germany, South Africa and the US.
World Infrastructure expert Dr Mensah who presented at DHS via video conference from his Atlanta Georgia base in the US proposed during his presentation that China could be considered to build the HRS as Ghana is already negotiating a US $19B bauxite development deal that includes a smelting facility and a light rail system with them.
The Dr Mensah High-Speed Rail System For Ghana
In a phone interview with TheAfricanDream.net, Dr Mensah disclosed he believes that “a recent article in Moody’s disparaging the bauxite deal as excessive debt will not hold water if coupled to the High-Speed Rail System that can modernize the transportation infrastructure in the country” as proposed in his presentation at the DHS.
“The proposal is in line with the current government ‘one factory, one district’ plan” said Dr. Mensah who felt his proposed HRS corridor from the south to north of the country can actually exceed this goal by having the potential to “creating 4 factories per district to supply to the construction and operation of the HRS. I see factories set up to build plastic, and composites for the interior of the high-speed trains as well as possibly aluminium parts for the train itself” he explained.
“This proposal has the potential to create a major Technology Transfer to Ghana, with all its Universities participating by supplying engineering, science and other graduates for the future operation and maintenance of the HRS System“, according to Dr Mensah. Ghana will be the third country in Africa after Ethiopia and Morocco to have HRS if Dr Mensah’s dream materializes.
High-Speed Rail System coupled with high-speed Internet
As part of his presentation, Dr Mensah also proposed the installation of fibre optic cable along the HRS line so passengers can connect to WiFi in the train while it travels at a distance of between 200-300 MPH. “I want a two-year-old in a village in Ghana to be able to learn from the tablet just like a two-year-old in the US, Europe, and the developed world”, he said.
“I believe several other colleagues of mine in the Diaspora, like
Dr Victor Laurence of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Dr Dotsevi Sogah of Cornell University, Hypersonic Expert Dr Isaiah Blankson at NASA, President of Dupont Africa Richard Okine, Dr Osseo Assare of Penn State University and many others will consider moving to Ghana or serve as external advisory to help the country develop. This HRS proposal could also help solve the infrastructure deficit” Dr Mensah told TheAfricanDream.net.
Several prominent engineers and scientist according to Dr Mensah who were trained in the US have returned to their respective countries to help develop the technology infrastructure base and today some of these countries like China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and India exporting technology.“Am not interested in complaining about the inconveniences of the system in Ghana, I rather want to become part of the return to Ghana to assist with fast-tracking its development then so be it”, said Dr Mensah to TheAfricanDream.net.
A significant legacy of transportation infrastructure development can be realised for Ghana through the HRS as the nation prepares to enter the 21st Century. Dr Mensah said he will be “happy to see Members of Ghana’s Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, Vice President Bawumia, and His Excellency President Nana Akufo Addo and their grand-children get on this High-Speed Rail System.”
Dr Thomas Mensah has authored 4 books on innovation, they are: Fiber Optics Engineering (1987), Superconductor Engineering (1992), his 2013 autobiography ‘The Right Stuff Comes in Black Too’, and ‘Nanotechnology Commercialization, an International Text Book’ (2017), is a holder of 7 US Patents awarded in a space of 6yrs. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, and the American Institue of Chemical Engineers.
Source: Oral Ofori /TheAfricanDream.net
