Ghana's Tema port gets set for big time, dredging 16 metres alongside

THE Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA) has formulated a five phase expansion plan for the port of Tema, the premier port for container handling in Ghana, reports Accra news portal SpyGhana.

China Harbour Engineering Company recently completed the first phase expansion involving breakwater construction, channel dredging and provision of sites for bulk terminal and other facilities.

Over the last three years traffic has increased more than 50 per cent annually, hitting a record high of 841,989 TEU in 2013, said the report.

The first phase will create basic port infrastructure, that is a new breakwater, dredging to 16 metres alongside, the creation of quay wall foundation trenches and land reclamation to provide new terminal areas.

Five new berths will be built, two of these being container berths, fit to dock the biggest containerships with facilities for a ro-ro and cruise terminal at the remaining three berths.

The GPHA has already received international bids for the works and a decision is imminent, said the report.

There is known to be plenty of interest in the new container terminal concession which will be offered for a minimum period of 20 years depending on the level of investment undertaken.

Ghana has a booming economy, a population of 25 million with a growing middle class, plus it is a gateway to the landlocked countries around it which include Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali as well as being able to serve parts of the neighbouring Ivory Coast and Benin, said the report.

Maritime trade is also not just import focused but also has growing export potential. The country is, for example, the second largest exporter of cocoa worldwide.

There is also recognition that the expansion of port facilities requires complementary action in terms of increasing road capacity to and from Tema port.

There are elements of this in the new port infrastructure package and in January 2014 the GPHA awarded a US$400,000 contract to Louis Berger and Transtech Consult Ghana Limited for the design of a four-lane highway connecting Tema Harbour.

When completed in 2018 the Tema harbour expansion will create a platform that is capable of raising annual container throughput in Tema to the two million TEU, putting it squarely in the race to achieve container hub status on the west coast of Africa.

At Ghana's second port, Takoradi, GPHA already has major expansion works underway with financing for this coming from the China Development Bank to the tune of $450 million and from Belgium's KBC Groep for $267 million.

At the same time, Jan de Nul of Belgium is working on the second phase consolidating and expanding on these works. The bulk commodities to be handled will include manganese, bauxite, clinker and limestone.