Introduction
Ghana is taking concrete steps to turn the “24-Hour Economy” from a slogan into a pipeline of bankable projects. One of the most consequential is the Volta Economic Corridor, an integrated effort to make Lake Volta a backbone for around-the-clock logistics, industrialisation, and export growth. The programme, launched by the government this year, sets out to extend productive activity beyond daylight hours by upgrading infrastructure, expanding shifts, and lowering the cost and time of moving goods; the Volta Economic Corridor has been highlighted as a flagship of that agenda.
At the heart of this opportunity sits Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volta River Authority incorporated in 1970 to provide inland water transport for passengers and freight on Lake Volta. VLTC already hauls bulk petroleum products and cement and runs cross-lake ferry services that knit together communities along the lake. Those capabilities built over decades make the company a natural anchor for a corridor that moves higher volumes, more reliably, day and night.
The economic logic is straightforward. Inland waterway transport is globally recognised for its cost efficiency in moving bulk cargo, and Ghana is no exception. On the Akosombo–Buipe axis—about 415 km—VLTC’s lake haulage is price competitive with road transport, an advantage that compounds when operations can run continuously. If Ghana succeeds in scaling this system, the corridor can lower logistics costs for northern markets and agro-industrial zones while relieving pressure on overburdened highways.
There is also a wider regional dividend. By modernising lake ports and services, the Volta Economic Corridor is designed to unlock trade flows between Ghana and its landlocked neighbours, align with AfCFTA priorities headquartered in Accra, and attract blended finance into critical infrastructure, which is an approach already drawing multilateral interest. These are precisely the kinds of linkages the 24H+ Programme seeks to catalyse across priority sectors.
However, transformation will require tackling known constraints. Studies of Ghana’s inland water transport identify administrative, market, logistics, and technical bottlenecks from ageing fleets and limited terminal capacity to safety and regulatory gaps that suppress reliability and throughput. A corridor strategy that pairs VLTC’s operating footprint with targeted investment in vessels, jetties, navigation aids, and scheduling systems can directly address those issues and make 24-hour operations viable and safe.
In short, a revitalised VLTC, embedded in a well-financed Volta Economic Corridor, is not just a transport story; it is a competitiveness strategy for Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy, one that can cut costs for producers, create jobs across shifts, and extend Ghana’s trading reach into the sub-region. The policy direction is set; the task now is disciplined execution.
Why is VLTC the natural anchor?
Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC) has an unusually strategic footprint: incorporated in 1970 as a subsidiary of the Volta River Authority (VRA), it already moves bulk petroleum products and cement between the south (Akosombo) and the north (Buipe), runs cross-lake ferry crossings that stitch together lakeside communities, and provides tramping services for passengers and cargo. These are not hypotheticals; rather, they are core operations today, documented by the VRA and on VLTC’s own service pages.
The company’s asset base, while mixed in age, is substantial and tailored to the lake: operational vessels range from the MV Yapei Queen and MV Buipe Queen (for long-haul tramping and ferries), to MV Freedom & Justice, MV Senchi, MV Akrade and others deployed on the main crossings (Adawso–Ekyi Amanfrom, Yeji–Makango, Kete-Krachi–Kodjokrom, Kpando–Agordeke, and Dambai–Overbank). Ferry operations typically run from early morning to evening, providing a predictable public-service rhythm that can be enhanced with better scheduling tech and lighting for a true round-the-clock regime.
The economic case: cost, distance, and integration
On the core north–south axis, the navigable stretch from Akosombo to Buipe is about 415 km. Multiple technical and official sources converge on that distance, and on a key fact for Ghana’s logistics bill: lake haulage on this route is generally cheaper than road transport for bulk cargo. In humanitarian and logistics assessments, freight for fuel moved by VLTC is typically pegged by the National Petroleum Authority at around 60% of approved bulk road vehicle (BRV) rates, which is a structural advantage that becomes even more compelling if operations run day and night.
Crucially, the VLTC–BOST interface already exists. Petroleum products move by pipeline from Tema to Akosombo, onto river barges to Buipe, and then onward through a 261-km pipeline to Bolgatanga, a northbound spine that the corridor can scale with modern equipment, better berths, and digitised scheduling. That is the spine that can extend the 24-Hour Economy from a policy into lived reality for manufacturers and farmers.
The corridor vision and the new financing signals
The Volta Economic Corridor has been positioned formally and publicly by the government as a flagship of the 24-Hour Economy (24H+) programme. Policy write-ups and reporting describe a spatial-industrial plan to make the Volta Basin a logistics and production backbone, with inland water transport at its heart and agro-industrial parks, irrigation, and lakeside hubs as the growth nodes. In July 2025, the Government of Ghana and the African Development Bank signed a Letter of Intent to support corridor development under 24H+, signalling preparation of a financing and de-risking stack (technical assistance, guarantees, concessional lines, and private-capital mobilisation).
For both the media and potential investors, the Letter of Intent is significant because it represents the first tangible step in moving the Volta Economic Corridor from a policy announcement to a pipeline of bankable projects. Coverage by the Daily Graphic and the Ghana News Agency at the July 2025 launch underscored this shift, situating the corridor firmly within the government’s 24-Hour Economy agenda, with particular emphasis on agro-processing, industrial parks, and logistics infrastructure along Lake Volta.
What must change: capacity, safety, regulation?
Transformation is not a varnish; it means fixing known bottlenecks. VLTC has explicitly sought strategic partners/investors to overhaul ageing vessels, expand barges, and modernise operations, which is an acknowledgement that capacity and turnaround times must improve to meet corridor ambitions. Independent assessments likewise highlight the need for fleet renewal and better terminals.
Safety is the other hard edge. The Auditor-General’s 2024/25 performance audit on inland water transport catalogues persistent hazards, especially submerged tree stumps and gaps that increase risk for commuters and cargo. While the Ghana Maritime Authority reports regular inspections and load-line enforcement, the audit underscores the urgency of removing navigation hazards and tightening compliance so that scale-up doesn’t come at the expense of safety. These are precisely the investments a corridor approach can ring-fence: stump removal, dredging in critical channels, navigation aids, weather stations, and training.
Climate resilience is now part of the operating reality. The 2023 Akosombo/Kpong dam spillage caused downstream flooding and exposed coordination gaps that must be addressed in any 24-hour logistics plan. Building redundancy into timetables and port operations, and investing in early-warning and hydromet data for lake navigation, are not “nice-to-haves” but preconditions for reliable service.
What “24-hour” looks like in practice on the lake
To make the 24-Hour Economy visible, start by extending the existing timetable. VLTC’s ferry pages already show set hours and service windows (e.g., ferries running daily; Yeji–Makango ~2 hours; Kete-Krachi–Kodjokrom ~45 minutes; Dambai–Overbank ~30 minutes). The corridor’s deliverables should include lighting for night berthing, crew rostering for continuous shifts, e-ticketing and tracking, and coordinated hand-offs with road and rail where available. In the medium term, tramping services (Akosombo–Kete-Krachi–Yeji) can be scheduled to eliminate idle time and guarantee just-in-time slots for agro-processors and fuel marketers.
On the long-haul route, the target is predictable five-to-eight-day turnarounds for bulk cargo between Akosombo and Buipe, even in peak seasons, supported by a refreshed fleet and disciplined maintenance. That level of reliability is the difference between a lake service producer’s plan around, and one they avoid.
Jobs and inclusive growth—counting the spillovers
The corridor is not just steel and water; it is a shift for thousands. Government infrastructure planning documents projected dramatic growth in passenger trips across the lake (from ~5 million in 2018 to 45 million by 2035) if ferry and tramping services are modernised, with safer boats and new landings. Pair that with the corridor’s industrial hubs, and the effect is compounded: dockhands, pilots, dispatchers, maintenance crews, agro-park workers, and SMEs servicing lakeside towns all working across multiple shifts as demand warrants.
Because inland waterways are the lowest energy, lowest cost mode for bulk cargo, the cost savings accrue at every link of the chain: lower delivered costs for cement and fuel up north; cheaper farm-to-market runs for yams, grains, and fish back south; fewer heavy trucks degrading highways; and lower emissions per tonne-kilometre moved.
Policy to projects: what a credible first 24 months looks like
Governance and Finance: The first step is to convert the African Development Bank’s Letter of Intent into a structured project preparation facility with clear timelines. An investor prospectus should then be issued to attract strategic partners for VLTC’s modernisation, covering new vessels, push-tugs, barges, floating docks, and upgraded workshops. Competitive tenders must be launched for port enhancements at Akosombo, Yeji, Kete-Krachi, Makango, and Buipe. To make these investments commercially viable, the government can deploy viability-gap funding to de-risk private capital inflows into terminals, logistics hubs, and associated infrastructure.
Operations: Early operational wins will be critical to building momentum. These include clearing priority channels of submerged stumps and aquatic weeds; installing modern navigation aids and lighting at major jetties; extending VLTC’s existing digital tools to introduce e-ticketing and cargo tracking; publishing guaranteed weekly sailing schedules for tramping services; and integrating operations with the BOST network from Tema through Akosombo and Buipe to Bolgatanga, with an emphasis on maintaining reliable fuel transport as capacity is expanded.
Regulation and Safety: Safety and regulatory credibility must advance in parallel with infrastructure. This means implementing the Auditor-General’s recommendations within defined timelines, expanding Ghana Maritime Authority inspections and enforcement of vessel load limits, and ensuring strict compliance with life-jacket regulations. Clear, codified weather-related operating rules should be published so operators and communities know exactly when services will pause or resume. In addition, making safety data publicly available will help restore trust, particularly in the aftermath of the 2023 Akosombo spillage and its impact on downstream communities.
Conclusion
Lake Volta is not just scenic: at 8,502 km², it is one of the world’s largest artificial lakes by surface area, sitting inside a country that now hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat. If Ghana can pair VLTC’s existing footprint with corridor-grade upgrades and project finance, it can move bulk goods more cheaply and safely around the clock, reduce highway wear, and make the 24-Hour Economy tangible for producers and households far from Accra. The policy signals and financing intent are on record; the execution pathway—fleet, ports, safety, schedules—is clear and shovel-ready.
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Albert Derrick Fiatui is the Executive Director at the Centre for International Maritime Affairs, Ghana (CIMAG), an Advocacy, Research and Operational Policy think-tank, with a focus on the Maritime Industry (Blue Economy) and general Ocean Governance. He is a Maritime Policy, Ocean Governance and Coastal Development Expert.
Email: info@cimaghana.org /albert@cimaghana.org