Boankra Inland Port: High Court overturns $33.3 million arbitration award against Justmoh Construction Limited

The Accra High Court, Commercial Division 2, has overturned a US$33.3 million arbitral award previously issued against Justmoh Construction Limited in a major legal victory linked to the Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal project.

In a 40-page judgment delivered by Justice John-Mark Nuku Alifo, the Court nullified a December 2025 arbitration decision that had directed Justmoh Construction Limited to refund the amount to Ashanti Port Services Limited (APSL).

The Court held that the arbitration process was fundamentally flawed due to critical jurisdictional and procedural breaches.

Justice Alifo identified three principal legal defects that rendered the arbitration award invalid. Central to the ruling was the finding that APSL lacked the legal authority to initiate arbitration proceedings against Justmoh Construction Limited.

According to the Court, legal capacity forms the “heart of jurisdiction,” adding that such defects cannot be corrected retrospectively once proceedings have commenced.

The Court further found that APSL’s board was improperly constituted at the time approval was granted for the legal action.

Justice Alifo noted that the company violated its own Shareholders’ Agreement by excluding directors representing the Ghana Shippers’ Authority and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority from the meeting that authorized the arbitration process.

Another major issue highlighted in the ruling was the termination of APSL’s concession agreement before arbitration proceedings were initiated.

The Court held that since the government had already revoked APSL’s concession over failure to secure funding for the project, the company no longer had the legal standing to pursue claims against Justmoh Construction Limited.

The Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal project, regarded as a strategic national infrastructure initiative aimed at improving cargo transit and trade efficiency in Ghana, has faced prolonged setbacks following the collapse of the partnership between APSL and Justmoh Construction Limited.

Court documents outlined the sequence of events that led to the dispute.

In August 2022, APSL engaged Justmoh Construction Limited for Phase 1A of the project.

A month later, US$33.3 million sourced from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority was transferred to Justmoh for mobilization purposes.

In August 2023, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority terminated APSL’s concession after the company failed to secure the required financing for the project.

Justmoh subsequently terminated its construction contract in October 2023, citing unpaid work certificates, before APSL initiated arbitration proceedings in December 2023.

A key aspect of the Court’s determination focused on the true nature of the US$33.3 million payment.

APSL had argued that the amount constituted a refundable loan advanced to Justmoh Construction Limited.

However, the Court found that the funds were in fact provided by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority as part of a share subscription arrangement and not a direct loan from APSL itself.

“APSL could not demand a refund for funds it did not provide,” the judgment stated, especially after the company failed to satisfy critical financial obligations under the concession agreement.

Acting under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), the High Court concluded that the arbitration proceedings were defective from the outset and therefore unenforceable.

The ruling effectively clears Justmoh Construction Limited of the US$33.3 million liability, bringing a significant chapter of the long-running Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal dispute to a close.