The Minister for Transport has said as part of Government’s efforts to ensure that Ghana becomes a transport hub in West Africa, the seaports are currently undergoing massive infrastructural expansion and service improvements.
“At the Tema Port, the four (4) berths dedicated Container Terminal which commenced in 2017 have been fully completed and operational”, he added.
He noted that at the Takoradi Port, to meet the demands of the oil and gas sector, an Oil Service Terminal has been completed and operational. This is to meet the demands of the Oil and Gas Sector.
In addition, the 4 development of the on-dock Multi-purpose Terminal which commenced in 2018 is almost nearing completion. The construction of the superstructure and installation of the state-of-the-art equipment for safe and efficient operations of the terminal is currently ongoing. All these massive infrastructural investments coupled with other soft interventions such as the paperless Ports System introduced in 2017 and the Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS) have enhanced our competitiveness, making Ghana an attractive destination for trade and investments.
He said these at the 3-day Transport Sector Review Conference under the theme, “Consolidating the Gains of the Transport Sector Through Effective Integration”.
Hon. Ofori Asiamah noted, significant progress has been made to start construction works on the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal. Currently, preparatory works have commenced including Environmental Impact Assessment and Engineering Designs for the Project. The completion of this Project would facilitate transit trade, especially to landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
He said the Ministry was on course in its quest to develop a third Commercial Port at Keta in the Volta Region. The Minister added, “feasibility studies have been completed and I am happy to note that the Project is viable for investors. In the coming days, a Market Sounding Forum would be held to announce the project to potential investors”.
With regards to inland water transport, he stated, the Ministry with funding under the Transport Sector Improvement Project (TSIP) was undertaking a feasibility (Assessment) study to explore the full potential of the Lake Transport System. In addition, the Government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea Exim Bank was supporting the development of cross lake ferry services and related infrastructure. The feasibility studies have been completed and financing arrangements were ongoing.
Under the Aviation sector, he mentioned, major infrastructure facelifts have been undertaken at the various airports. The Kumasi and Tamale airports were currently being upgraded into an international status. Works on the two (2) airports were expected to be completed by first quarter of next year.
For the Ho Airport, he said, construction works have been fully completed and navigation equipment including Control Towers have been installed. On 15th April this year, Africa World Airlines (AWA), organized a historic test fight to the Ho Airport.
“It is expected that commercial services would soon commence”, he added.
As part of Government’s policy to establish an airport/ airstrip in each of the regions to boost tourism and trade, a feasibility study is currently on-going to determine a suitable location for the development of an airport in the Cape Coast in the Central Region, Takoradi in the Western Region or in between the two (2) regions.
Hon Ofori Asiamah reported, work was seriously ongoing on the Tema – Mpakadan Railway Line to link the Tema Port by rail to the Volta Lake as part of the Eastern Multimodal Transport Corridor.
He stated contrary to perception that integration is lacking in the transport sector, the Transport Sector Ministries were already integrating on some projects and it was a matter of deepening the integration beyond the status quo.
Participants at this Transport Sector Review Conference inspected the Kumasi Airport project under the Ministry of Transport. Consultants on site said the project is expected to be completed in October 2022, and they were on course to finishing the project on schedule.