The Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) has ranked Tema Port as currently the biggest in terms of capacity for all ports in West and Central Africa with the completion of phase-1 of the MPS Terminal 3.
“We have the biggest container terminal within West and Central Africa. If you look at single terminal volumes that are handled, we were able to do 1 million TEUs at the close of 2018 and 2019. Barring COVID-19, our target was to cross the 1 million mark,” President of PMAWCA and Director General of the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority, Michael Luguje, said in the Eye on Port programme.
According to him, this is being complemented by ongoing expansion of Takoradi Port which includes upgrading the dry bulk jetty with conveyor systems; construction of the multipurpose Atlantic Terminal; the completed liquid bulk terminal; and the pending oil and gas services terminal.
“The Liquid Bulk Terminal has the capacity to serve the whole liquid bulk industry for many years to come,” he said.
Mr. Luguje added: “The fourth phase of development in Takoradi is the oil and gas services hub, which will be a concentration of everything the offshore oil industry needs”.
The Director General of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority also revealed that these are further boosted by the initiative to construct the Mpakadan Inland Port and Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal, which will begin soon.
“Mpakadan is going to be linked by rail to Tema Port. So, once Mpakadan is able to demonstrate the economic advantage of picking the container from rail and putting it on a barge via the lake to the North and continuing by river to its destination, naturally it will generate volumes,” he opined.
He also touched on the Keta Port that is going to be the third major seaport in Ghana, and revealed that feasibility studies currently ongoing will be completed by end of first quarter 2021.
The DG of GPHA also revealed that revamping the Tema Shipyard has not been neglected, and that investors interested in developing the facility were inhibited from coming to Ghana to assess facility earlier in the year due to COVID-19.
He said the masterplan of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority gives room for the development of a cruise terminal at both the Takoradi and Tema Ports; therefore, the Port Authority will pursue such developments with the private sector when opportunity presents itself in the future.
Mr. Luguje said with these port infrastructure developments, coupled with the development of intermodal transport linkages such as rail and inland water transports, Ghana will surely position itself as one of the best destinations for intra-African trade – especially as the novel Free Trade Agreement presents a 3-trillion-dollar economy for the taking.
