Dr. Bawumia cuts the tape to commission the terminal
VICE-PRESIDENT Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday commissioned a $56.7 million new state-of-the-art liquid bulk terminal at the Takoradi Port in the Western Region.
The Takoradi Liquid Bulk Terminal project was initiated by Ibistek Ghana Limited, a local company, to provide an essential link in the supply chain for Ghana’s Oil & Gas sector through the Takoradi Port.
It was built with funding from the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and the Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG).
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 terminal is designed to support vessels up to 60,000 tons of petroleum cargo carriers and five times faster than the existing one for the discharge of the afore-stated products in Ghana.
The facility, which can take two-and-a-half times capacity of the existing facility, will help BDC companies to avoid delays that result in demurrage cost.
Speaking during the commissioning, Vice-President Bawumia underlined the significance of maritime transport to Ghana’s economy and reiterated the government’s quest to support the improvement and expansion of infrastructure at the ports.
He said without a resilient infrastructure and efficient port operations, there would be little trade and socio-economic benefits to the country.
“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,” he added.
While calling for the improvement of efficiency of port operations to ultimately reduce the cost of doing business, Dr. Bawumia gave an assurance 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,” he said.
The Board Chairman of GPHA, Peter Mac Manu, said the commissioning of the facility was testament to the development of the port in line with the national development goals.
Kwame Gyan, board chairman of Ibistek, was hopeful that bulk distribution companies (BDCs) would take advantage of the new facility to fill the storage space gap within the port enclave in order to realize optimum benefit from the efficiency of the terminal.
Dry Bulk Jetty
Dr. 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 cargoes like manganese, bauxite, clinker, gypsum, quick lime, among others, at the Takoradi Port.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi