TAKORADI PORT TO UNDERGO TRANSFORMATION (PAGE 23, MAY 27, 2010)

IT is welcome news that a master plan has been designed for the expansion and redevelopment of the Takoradi Port to transform it into a modern and vibrant one to meet the challenges of the emerging oil and gas industry.
It is inevitable that the oil find in the Western Region will pose various challenges to the management of the Takoradi Port and that the port has to prepare itself very well to meet these challenges.
The port has gone through expansion and rehabilitation since it was constructed and that it is important to look at this to see whether it has had an impact on the operations of the port.
In 1986, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), with the support of the government, embarked on a major rehabilitation of the Tema and Takoradi Ports.
The project was carried out in two phases; with the first phase including the repair and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure and facilities, the removal of sunken vessels and other wrecks from the harbour basin and the supply of equipment including floating crafts, cargo handling equipment and vehicles.
It also included the institutional strengthening involving technical and management training.
The project which cost over US$ 106 million was funded by the World Bank and co-financed by the European Union, the Saudi Fund and the OCEF of Japan.
The second phase of the Port Rehabilitation Project which started in 1991 included the dredging of the port to designed depths, strengthening of berths, rehabilitation of the sawntimber shed number two in Takoradi, a master plan study was also carried out for the future development of the port.
The second phase which cost over 27 million Euros was financed by a European Union grant, which covered 80 per cent of the cost), with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority bearing the remaining 20 per cent.
The construction of the Takoradi Port began in 1923 and on April 3 1928, the port was officially opened while formal operations began on December 3, 1928.
Between 1951 and 1956, the port had seen the extension of the lee breakwaters, construction of berths four, five and six, bauxite and oil berths and passenger terminal and the construction of sheds four, five and six.
The past and present performance of the Takoradi Port shows that in 1928, less than one million tonnes of cargo were handled at the port, while 1,153 small vessels called at the port in 1956 with turn-round time of 14 days , while 2.3 million tonnes of cargo were handled at the port.
In 1993, a total of 438 big vessels called at the port with turn-round time of 24 days, while 2.3 million tonnes of cargo were handled at the port.
In 2002, 463 big vessels called at the port with turn-round time of 16 days, while 3.4 million tonnes of cargo were handled at the port.
The year 2003 saw 494 vessels calling at the port and 3.8 million tonnes of cargo handled, while in 2004, 465 vessels called at the port and 4.2 million tonnes of cargo were handled.
The projection is that in the year 2010 more than 700 vessels are expected to call at the port and that more than seven million tonnes of cargo are expected to be handled at the Takoradi Port.
What has been narrated above is an indication that the Takoradi Port has seen some kind of expansion to improve on its operations and also to attract more vessels to the port.
Even the master plan which has been reviewed for the expansion and redevelopment of the Takoradi Port was conceptualised as far back as 1991.
The master plan for the expansion and redevelopment of the port had been developed since 2001 and was expected to be implemented in phases.
The expansion and redevelopment of the Takoradi Port is long overdue and with the oil find in the Western Region, this project has become very urgent as more and bigger vessels are expected to call at the port.
Already many supply vessels connected with the operations of the oil rigs at the Jubilee Field off Cape Three Points are using the port.
Critical steps were taken to further improve service delivery quality, increase port capacity to handle more vessels and cargo, and increase cargo throughput.
One of the steps was to ensure the speedy implementation of the port expansion and modernisation to enhance berthing capacity and operational efficiency through the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) system..
The project was estimated to cost US$ 249,651 million and included the extension of the breakwater, dredging and reclamation, the construction of container berths and the improvement of the old berths.
It also included the extension of the bulk berth, the oil berth, small craft berth, revetment, pavement and provision of equipment, among others.
The benefits of the project were to expand the capacity of the port to handle more cargo and more vessels, improve cargo handling operations, reduce the cost of doing business, enhance the port’s capacity to compete favourably with its neighbours in the West African sub-region and increase its employment generating capacity.
Another step was to increase private sector participation to expand the port’s capacity to handle more cargo in the areas of warehousing/transit shed facilities, equipment, road haulage facilities and rail haulage facilities.
The bottom line is to make the port attractive and the corridor user friendly through good security, efficient handling of cargo, good customer service, berthing, storage and haulage facilities, competitive price and quick clearance.
A stakeholders’ forum on the proposed expansion of the port had been held in Takoradi, where a presentation on the development proposals for the port was made for the public to make comments and ask questions on the project.
At the forum, the Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, said the ministry had a significant role to play in the successful exploitation of the oil and gas resources.
He said the Ministry of Transport was aware of the maritime demands of oil exploration and production, including the gas by-products and was determined to meet those demands.
He stressed that the situation now, where services needed by oil companies were being provided by existing oil service facilities in Abidjan for example, could not be allowed to persist forever.
The minister did not mince words, since if at least the first phase of the port expansion is not completed before the oil starts flowing in the last quarter of this year, most oil vessels and service providers will operate from Abidjan in Cote d’lvoire.
The Takoradi Port, therefore, should not be denied the revenue that will accrue to it if the it is used for those operations.
The Takoradi Port is located strategically between the Tema Port and Abidjan. It is well connected to its hinterland which makes it the preferred and ideal gateway to the middle and northern parts of Ghana and the Sahelian countries, namely Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
It is serviced by all the leading shipping lines and leading clearing and forwarding companies.
Annually, the port on the average, handles 600 vessels, 37 per cent of the total national sea-borne traffic, 62 per cent of national exports and 20 per cent of national imports.
Leading exports include manganese, bauxite, forest products and cocoa beans, while leading imports include clinker, wheat, petroleum products and containerised cargo.
With the completion of its three modern sheds, the port now has a covered storage area of 140,000m2 and an open storage area of 250,000m2.
In addition, there are also private warehouses in the port area. Together, the port has the capacity to store a variety of cargoes. The port has a container holding capacity of more than 5,000 TEUs.
According to historical facts, by the early 1980s, three companies were operating in the Tema and Takoradi Ports: The Ghana Ports Authority (GPA), Ghana Cargo Handling Company (GCHC) and the Takoradi Lighterage Company (TLC).
By 1983, the conditions at the ports had seriously deteriorated; adversely affecting port services, as a result of inadequate cargo handling equipment, deterioration of installations and lack of maintenance and dredging.
The poor state of repair resulted in extremely low loading and unloading rates, excessive ship turn-round time at berth and high demurrage and freight charges.
On June 26, 1986, the PNDC government merged the Ghana Ports Authority, Ghana Cargo Handling Company and the Takoradi Lighterage into one corporate body, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
The GPHA was mandated to plan, build, develop, manage, maintain, operate and control the sea ports in Ghana.
The key functions of GPHA include providing and maintaining facilities necessary for the efficient and proper operations of the ports, as well as carrying on all the business of stevedoring, master porterage and lighterage services.
It is also to ensure the efficient management of ports in Ghana, and shifted from landlord to service port, and that GPHA did not only own infrastructure and superstructure, but also operated them.