The government of Ghana and the Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim) have signed two loan facilities worth a total of US$422.87mn to finance the construction of a railway line and a sugarcane project in Ghana.

Under the first agreement, India Exim will extend a US$398.33mn buyer’s credit to finance the design and construction of an 85km railway between the port of Tema and Akosombo, a port on the lower end of the Volta River, as well as two railway terminals. The project will be engineered and constructed by India’s Afcons Infrastructure.

The second agreement, which is backed by the government of India, includes a US$24.54mn line of credit to a sugarcane development and irrigation project in Ghana. Under the terms of the credit line, India Exim will reimburse 100% of the contract value to Indian exporters, upfront upon shipment of goods. It is the seventh government-backed credit line of this kind that India has issued to Ghana, aggregating US$208.26mn to support Indian exports of product and services for construction and power projects in the West African country.

The two agreements were signed in Accra, Ghana last week by Ghanaian finance minister Seth Terkper and India Exim’s representative Pushpesh Tyagi.

India is the second-largest investor in Ghana with about 700 registered companies in the country, according to the government of Ghana.