Programme to expand maritime business underway - President Mahama

Accra, Feb 27, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday said government had embarked on a programme to expand facilities and address the growing needs of the maritime business community and neighbouring landlocked countries.

Delivering the state of the nation's address in Parliament, in Accra, he revealed that, works had been completed under phase one of the Takoradi Port Expansion Programme, the construction of 1.18km of breakwater into the sea.

He said, the current ongoing work is the dredging and reclaiming of the sea to construct the leeside breakwater to create berthing facilities for direct loading and unloading of bauxite and manganese exports as well as clinker and limestone imports.

'The Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority and the Meridian Port Services are collaborating to expand the Tema Port to create several hectares of port operational area including deep draft berths for vessels drawing 15m of water or more. The total investment is estimated a above $1.5bn,'.

'The first berth under this project should be completed by October 2016. In all, there will be 4 berths of 1400 quay length that will have capacity of almost 3million TEUs. In addition a 450m jetty is currently under construction inside Tema to allow for the fast discharge of bulk cargo in particular cement and clinker. This project should be ready for use by the first quarter of 2016,' he said.

President Mahama said, the Ghana Maritime Authority has installed a Vessel Traffic Management Information System, while work is also almost complete on the development of the Takoradi Logistics Platform to provide warehousing facilities for the oil and gas industry.

He said in order to improve transportation on the Volta Lake, three units of 50-seater high-speed passenger ferries have been procured and delivered to Akosombo for assembling while the construction of a one-unit modular passenger/cargo ferry has also been completed and ready for shipment. Adding that the ferries would be in operation by the second quarter of next year.

'Massive investment continues to be made to further develop and upgrade the country's aviation infrastructure. Increasing volumes of passengers and cargo, have exacted a toll on the country's only international airport, the Kotoka International Airport and stretched it to its limit. Last year over forty thousand flights were recorded at our airports. In the same period total passenger throughput stood at over 2.5 million compared with a little over 1.3 million in 2009. This represents an almost 100% increase,' he said.

He said the arrival hall expansion project in terminal II is nearing completion while work would also start by the second quarter of this year on an ultra-modern International Terminal to be known as Terminal 3.

He said, the first phase of the Tamale International Airport project which started in July last year would be completed by the end of the year while the phase two would see the construction of a modern terminal and a dedicated Hajj terminal for Muslims embarking on the Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca.

President Mahama disclosed that the first Phase of the Kumasi International Airport project involving the modernization of the runway, installation of critical Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) system and Instrument Landing Systems among other equipment has been completed thereby commencing night operations.

He said phase two of the project would involve an ultra-modern terminal building and further extension of the runway to accommodate bigger aircrafts.

He said, with regards to rail industry, government is committed to the redevelopment of the railway industry in line with the recently completed Ghana Railway Master Plan which entails the reconstruction and modernization of the existing rail network to be followed by the extension of rail lines to other regions.

'Suburban rail services will start on the Takoradi to Sekondi line, via Kojokrom in the third quarter to ease the ever-increasing road congestion and reduce travel time between the twin cities. The Ghana Railway Company will be deploying new air-conditioned diesel multiple train units on the line,'.

'Other projects that are being developed by the Ghana Railway Development Authority include the reconstruction of the Accra to Nsawam and the Kumasi - Ejisu suburban rail lines. The construction of these lines is strategic since they form sections of the main lines while their completion in the interim will help reduce the road congestion,' he said.

He said as part of the eastern railway line redevelopment plan, a rail link between the Tema Port and the Boankra Inland port would be developed to improve the operational efficiency of the Tema port and make it a preferred port especially for the shippers of our landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

He said in order to provide the Ghanaian public with greater options and flexibility in road transport, public transportation is being improved through the acquisition of a total of 490 buses to strengthen the operations of two public transport companies namely the Metro Mass Transit and the Intercity STC and the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

He said some of the buses have been designed to allow for easy access by persons with disability.

President Mahama said, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has since September last year commenced the enforcement of non-registration of vehicles without seat belts and compulsory installation of same.

This, he indicated, is a key step towards ensuring the safety of passengers and the reduction in casualties during road accidents.

GNA