The Government is working to expand port facilities, including the development of the Keta Port, to accommodate increasing cargo volumes and improve efficiency.
The Minister of Transport, Joshua Bukari Nikpe, who disclosed this, said rising import volumes and inadequate expansion of port infrastructure were putting increasing pressure on existing facilities.
He stated that Ghana had not undertaken significant port expansion since the development of Terminal 3, despite exponential growth in the economy and trade.
The Transport Minister was speaking in Tema last Friday following a meeting of stakeholders, including the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, with port authorities and critical importers on the congestion at the port and its implications on the cost of doing business and the effect on the ultimate consumer.
Mr Nikpe called for greater private-sector participation and partnerships to support the expansion of Ghana’s port infrastructure.
He stressed that decongesting the ports was essential to preventing additional costs from being passed on to consumers and maintaining the country’s position as a preferred shipping destination, particularly for landlocked countries in the region.
"We are here to tell management that we have to all put our hands on deck to see how we decongest our port, to see how we will serve everybody who calls on us, so that there is no pass-on cost to the general population of the Ghanaian people," he stated.
Authorities at the Tema Port and key industry stakeholders reached an agreement to ease congestion involving cement vessels in particular, and to facilitate the faster discharge of cement-related products.
The agreement was reached after the stakeholder meeting between the leadership of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, the Minister of Transport, and members of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG).
The meeting was to swiftly address the challenges and find an amicable solution to prevent a potential increase in local prices of cement, as well as to assess the situation surrounding recent congestion concerns at the port, which has raised fears of a GH¢12 increase in cement prices.
Clearing congestion
Speaking to the media in Tema last Friday after the meeting, the Director of Tema Port, Tebon Zumah, said the immediate priority was to clear the congestion by allowing cement vessels to discharge more efficiently.
He stated that longer-term measures would be explored to sustain the smooth handling of cement products at the Port of Tema.
Mr Zumah said the general congestion was a shared responsibility, adding that limited truck availability could slow down the discharge process and prevent vessels from leaving the berth.
He urged cement manufacturers to reconsider the planned price increases, arguing that higher prices were not the solution to the current challenges.
"After this meeting, we have reached some agreements and the basic aim is to make sure that we allow for the cement discharge to avoid the congestion that has been created.
But in the longer term, we'll look at ways that we can sustain the efficient discharge of cement-related products in the Port of Tema," he said.
Mr Zumah called for stakeholders to work together to address capacity constraints as demand continued to grow.
Context
Congestion at the Port of Tema, as captured in the lead story in last Saturday’s edition of the Daily Graphic, has impacted various facets of the import trade and even traffic along various routes of the Tema enclave.
The impact includes safety concerns on major roads, as heavy-duty trucks have either parked on the shoulders of the roads or get stuck in traffic for long periods.
Government secures berth
The Trade Minister, Mrs Ofosu-Agyare, said the government had secured an additional temporary berth at the Tema Port to help to clear the backlog of cement clinker vessels to reduce mounting demurrage costs for manufacturers.
She said increased demand for clinker, coupled with limited capacity at the port’s three existing berths, had created congestion and significant financial pressure on cement producers, especially importers generally.
Following discussions, Mrs Ofosu-Agyare said an extra berth would temporarily be made available to accelerate the discharge of clinker.
She mentioned that the GRA would also facilitate faster payment of duties to help manufacturers to clear their consignments more quickly.
The minister said the measures were aimed at reducing the cost of doing business and improving efficiency in the cement industry, while manufacturers had also agreed to take steps to ensure clinker was cleared promptly.
