Minister for Transport, hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, says as part of the development agenda of the country, government was committed to building a new Commercial Port at Keta in the Volta Region, to create jobs and accelerate development of the Region.

According to him, feasibility studies on the project had been completed after construction of an administrative structure on the project site.

He explained that government was currently going through procurement processes to develop the project, hoping that by the third quarter of next year, 2022, procurement processes would have ended for the start of the Keta port project to begin.

Speaking at a stakeholder’s engagement and market sounding event on the Keta Port Project, the Minister indicated that feasibility studies showed the port project was a viable one, but highly capital intensive and Government could not bear it alone therefore the involvement of the private sector to bring in the needed capital, expertise and efficiencies for the construction of the port.

The Minister noted the construction of the port would be developed in phases, corresponding to the forecasted traffic growth and potential business development. The phase 1 which is the “Port Nucleus”, and estimated at US$600 million, would consist of the main facilities of the key drivers of a commercial port with the commercial port gate, access control and administration building.

The phase 2 would include the multipurpose terminal with a berth length of 500m and a RoRo Dock. The phase 3, he explained would be the Oil terminal, consisting of the tank farm and an oil jetty.

Phase 4 would have the Shipyard with dedicated basin for floating docks and vessel maintenance. The phase 5 would include a fishing port and related amenities, while the phase 6 and 7 would have craft services and access roads.

Hon. Ofori Asiamah appealed to the traditional leaders of the area to prevail upon the people of the area to lend their support to the project and eschew negative acts that will hinder the smooth execution the project.

There was a comprehensive presentation by the project engineers to enable stakeholder and investors have better understanding of what the project and its execution plans were.