Discussions are at an advanced stage for Sao Tome and Principe, a Central African country, to use Ghana’s port and harbour as its first entry point for federal distribution.
And it is likely that the Port of Takoradi could earn the bragging rights to take on such role considering the current and ongoing developments including the various expansions, automation of operations, draft increase – which are all the most modern innovations in port operations in West Africa – as well as its strategic position in the Gulf of Guinea which puts it at par with other world class ports.
The Port of Takoradi currently boasts of a 16 meters deep dry bulk terminal; an 800 meters quay with 3 berths dredged to minus 16, a conveyor system of 3kms with a navigational channel of -17CD, an automated operational system supported by an Eco Hopper with handling rate of 600t/h and a ship loader with handling rate of 2,500t/h among many others.
Sao Tome and Principe’s attention to Ghana’s port and harbour comes after the two countries renewed a 7-year air service management agreement.
Ghana’s Transport Minister Kweku Assiama took a delegation from Sao Tome led by that country’s Minister of Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Environment, Adelino Afonso Fernandes Rosa Cardoso, to the Port of Takoradi on a familiarisation and inspection visit – after a similar exercise at the Port of Tema – as his country takes a decision on the federal distribution.
Kweku Assiama, Minister of Transport, said, “because of the success we have had in airspace management, Sao Tome has expressed interest to use our ports as their transit points where most of their cargo will be here then they will do… what we call federal distribution to their country. The minister has paid a visit to Tema to acquaint himself with the facilities that we have and today we are here and from here they will take a decision whether to use Tema or to use Takoradi as their point of transit,” when Connect FM asked him about the rationale for the visit.
“Takoradi Port as we speak today is now a new port. The port was constructed in 1928 with a draft between 8 to 3 meters… as I speak to you today Takoradi Port can boast of new facilities, new liquid bulk facility which is the most modern in West Africa, an automated bulk jetty, multi purpose container terminal with a draft of 16 meters that can compete with any other port in the world, we are also constructing an oil and gas terminal which all things being equal we should commission it by August next year.”
Kweku Assiama is excited about the arrangement since “if they are going to use Ghana as a transit point definitely it will mean that more cargo are going to come in either both import and export which will increase the tonnage so far as our port operation is concerned”.
He also sees the arrangement as a mutually beneficial one as “to them because they don’t have a deeper draft… the benefit to them is that when smaller vessels from Europe go into their country the cost of shipment becomes high but if they can do a federal shipping from Takoradi to Soa Tome which is not far it means that it will reduce the cost of shipping which will be beneficial to them”.
Adelino Afonso Fernandes Rosa Cardoso, the Minister of Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Environment, explained that Ghana’s strategic location, new innovations in its port operations as well as an already strong established cooperation made it worthy to consider other corporations.
“Ghana’s location is very good for us to do the business.”
When asked whether his country will consider Port of Takoradi due to recent world class developments, Mr. Rosa Cardoso responded: “I have visited Tema. The Minister told me Takoradi has a projection for a free zone and I think it is better to do the business with Takoradi.”
Director of Port of Takoradi Peter Amo-Bediako noted the Port stands ready to take on new challenges which will boast the country’s trade relations not just in Africa but the rest of the world.
He announced that “the President has also given us the executive instrument that extends the Port about 10 kilometres away. So, we are looking for investors… it involves reclaiming.”
By Eric Yaw Adjei