The massive infrastructure project is being managed by Meridian Port Services, as a joint venture between APM Terminals, which owns (35 percent), Bolloré Africa Logistics (35 percent) and the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (30 percent).
The project, which consists of both new Greenfield port outside the present facility and upgrade of the adjacent road network, was set in motion on June 12th2014 at a formal signing ceremony held by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, the President of the Republic of Ghana, and attended by APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer.
A statement by APM Terminals disclosed that all even ship-to-shore and 20 RTG ultra-modern gantry cranes have arrived for installation in the Port of Tema, Ghana, and with the crane commissioning as well as operator training now taking place, the Port is on schedule to open on June 28 this year.
According to APMT, the breakwater and access channel, able to accommodate the world’s largest container ships and the first two deep-water berths are expected to be able to receive commercial vessels by the end of June 2019.
“Port infrastructure for receiving and delivering containers from/to shippers and consignees will also be ready. The third new berth will be operational in the first quarter of 2020, ahead of the scheduled completion in June 2020. A fourth berth will follow bringing the quay length to 1,400 m.
The Port, APMT says, has also taken delivery of a fleet of 20 Electric Rubber Tyre Gantries (eRTG) capable of stacking containers seven wide and one over five high in the container yards and they are electrically powered instead of using diesel generators, contributing to an improvement in the environment.
Recall that the existing container facility, operated by MPS since 2007, has reached maximum capacity while Tema’s new world-class port infrastructure will support the country’s economic growth, providing 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in annual throughput capacity when fully built out.
APMT further revealed that the new gigantic port Infrastructure will not only be able to accommodate Ghana’s trade and industry growth as well as serving as the regional hub for West Africa and beyond, but has also created more than 5,000 jobs.
“Expanding the port using superior infrastructure and modern, advanced technology will allow Ghanaian companies to compete for business in the most cost-effective way. MPS’s terminal efficiency, accessibility, variety of shipping lines, frequency of vessel calls, fast vessel turnaround time, high port capacity and berth availability are the optimal criteria for making Tema Port, the Hub Port for Africa,” the statement added.
Pundits believed that having a Hub Port in Tema will steer Ghana industry to be connected to the wider West African consumer markets in a more efficient way through direct services or shorter transit time and competitive sea freight rates. This is an important facilitation to the economy; capable of attracting investment in the trade and industry sectors to setup facilities/factories round Tema Port leading to job creation, increased trade and ensure higher foreign exchange earnings.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
