Agreement for $1.5bn Tema Port Expansion Project signed
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has signed an agreement with the Meridian Ports Services (MPS) for a concession to equip the Tema Harbour with new facilities and expand its capacity to enable it to accommodate more cargo.
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To be executed at a cost of $ 1.5 billion within three years, the project will have the capacity of 3.5 million Twenty Equivalent Unit (TEU) in line with the GPHA’s master plan for the Tema Port.
The multi-purpose facility will include a new 1.4-kilometre quay for four container berths with 16-metre draft and a 3.85 kilometres breakwater within a dredged port access channel, 19 metres deep and 250 metres wide to accommodate larger vessels.
Accra-Tema Motorway
The project, which is the first of its kind since the construction of the port in 1962, will also include the construction of a railway terminal for the transportation of containers by rail to and from the port.
The Accra-Tema Motorway will also be upgraded to six lanes with slip roads to enhance trade activities from and to the port.
The concessionary agreement, which is for a period of 35 years, including an unexpired nine years of an existing agreement, will also reclaim 120 hectares of land.
MPS is owned by the GPHA with 30 per cent shares and two foreign companies, Bollore Africa Logistics and APM Terminal with a total of 70 per cent shares.
Enhancing efficiency
At a ceremony in Accra, the Director-General of GPHA, Mr Richard Y. Anamoo, and the Board Chairman, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, signed the documents on behalf of the GPHA, while the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MPS, Mr Mohammed Samara; the CEO of APM Terminal, Mr Kim Fejfer and Mr Philipps Labonne, CEO Bollore Africa Logistics, signed for their respective organisations.
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The Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa A. Attivor, who was at the ceremony, said the project was intended to enhance efficiency and make the port the choicest in the sub-region.
She also said although the port was established to handle general cargo, the need had arisen to expand it with the increase in cargo processed at a given time and deeper container penetration.
She said the transport sector, among other key sectors, needed to be well positioned to play a pivotal role in the economic development process.
Furthermore, she indicated that the government was encouraging private and public partnership to reduce the financial burden on the government and accelerate development.
5,000 jobs to created
In his remarks, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the project was a giant leap for the GHPA and would result in lots of economic benefits to the country.
He urged all stakeholders to bear with the port authorities since the construction works would cause lots of traffic and other inconveniences at the port.