Work on Tema Fishing Harbour wharf at standstill

Work on the GH¢5.5 million concrete wharf at the Tema Fishing Harbour has come to a standstill.

The project, which should have been completed by April, this year, was awarded to FNB/Kwik Silver Contractors by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).

So far, the GPHA had paid GH¢3.9 million of the project cost of GH¢5.5 million to the contractor.

Equipment

Equipment and working materials of the contractor have been abandoned, posing great danger to the public and fishermen. 

Among the idle equipment at the project site is an excavator which had submerged. Some precast concrete slabs had also fallen off into the sea.

The situation is a source of concern to fishermen who operate from the canoe beach and have called on the Ghana Ports and Harbours

Authority (GPHA) to abrogate the contract with FNB/Kwik Silver and re-award to a new contractor.

They have vowed to chase away the contractor if they should see him on site.

Ultimatum

In March 2013, the Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, inspected work on the project and gave FNB/Kwik Silver an ultimatum to complete and hand over the project by the end of April 2013.

The Project Manager, Mr Julius Carl Hermond, pledged then that work would be completed as directed.

However, six months after the minister’s visit, work on the project has rather come to a halt.

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) had admitted that the contractor did not perform according to the contract terms.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Manager at the GPHA, Ms Joana Adda explained that the project was long overdue and, therefore, will need to be terminated and re-awarded for work to be completed.

She said the authority was waiting for legal advicse from its lawyers on the appropriate steps to take.

A chief fisherman at the canoe beach, Nii Odameteh, said the wharf was to serve as the net mending area for fishermen.

He appealed to the GPHA to consider the danger posed to the fishermen as the pre-cast slabs were crumbling into the sea.