Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia yesterday commissioned a $56.7million new state-of-the-art Liquid Bulk Terminal at the Takoradi Harbour.
The Vice President also cut the sod for the construction of a new multi-purpose Dry Bulk Jetty Phase Two, also at the same Port.
The newly commissioned Liquid Bulk Terminal, the biggest in West Africa, has five loading arms for five products, namely: petrol, diesel, LPG, heavy fuel and bitumen.
The massive investment and commissioning of the Liquid Bulk Terminal will significantly improve efficiency.
This is because the new facility is designed to support vessels up to 60,000 tons of petroleum cargo carriers, and is five times faster than the existing one for the discharge of these products in the country.
The facility, which can take two and a half times capacity of the existing facility, will help Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) to avoid delays, which result in demurrage cost.
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Vice President Bawumia underlined the significance of maritime transport to the Ghanaian economy and also reiterated the Akufo-Addo government’s quest to support the improvement and expansion of infrastructure at the ports.
“There is no doubt that maritime transport presents the most important mode of international freight movement. It also goes without saying that without a resilient infrastructure and an efficient port operation, there will be little trade and very little socio-economic benefits to the country.
“Besides offering the most economical and reliable way to move goods over long distances, our Ports
provide the platform for revenue mobilization through customs duties and taxes and provides employment opportunities to several Ghanaians.
“Our Ports also contribute to the development of commercial activities in our neighbouring landlocked countries, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. It is for these reasons that Government places greater emphasis on promoting a business-friendly environment within the maritime sector.
“Government has over these past few years spared no effort at increasing the development and expansion of the physical infrastructure, the deployment of state-of-the-art operational equipment and the development of the human resource capacity of Ghanaians to efficiently manage our maritime facilities”, Vice President Bawumia added.
While calling for the improvement of efficiency of port operations to ultimately reduce the cost of doing business, Dr. Bawumia assured of government’s continuous support for the Tema and Takoradi Ports, as well as the development of a new port at Keta.
“We have and will continue to support the Tema and Takoradi Ports expansion projects and the development of a new Port at Keta.”
“These expansion projects are being implemented in phases.
Sod Cutting for Dry Bulk Jetty
Vice President Bawumia also cut the sod for the construction of a multi-purpose Dry Bulk Jetty at the Takoradi Harbour.
The Dry Bulk Jetty project, when completed, will help in the efficient handling of dry bulk cargos like manganese, bauxite, clinker, gypsum, quick lime, etc at the Takoradi Port.
The existing facility for handling such cargos is 120 metres with a depth of 8.6 meters and the new one which was commissioned by the Vice President is 300 meters with a depth of 14 metres.
