GPHA Establishes Port Dev’t Fund

Paul Asare Ansah, Director-General of the Ghana Port and Harbour and Authority (GPHA), says the establishment of the Ports Infrastructure Development Fund would help generate revenue for the Authority to stop dependence on foreign organizations for port expansion projects.

Speaking at the inauguration of a nine-member committee at Tema last Thursday, the Director-General said the move would gradually shift control of the industry from foreign operators to indigenous organizations.

He said if suggestions from him for its introduction in 2001 were adopted, the GPHA would have been able to finance the ongoing $1.5 million Tema Port expansion without the involvement of foreign establishments, which has put financial burden on the authority and country's economy.

He explained that even though the current arrangement was prudent, it would deprive the country of some revenue, which could have remained in the country if GPHA had financed the project locally.

Mr. Ansah observed that such infrastructural development and its related financing in the Western countries were only opened to European and American partners as a way of protecting their interests.

He called for the development of local entrepreneurs to obtain the strong financial backing for such projects.

The nine-member committee has also been charged to set out modalities and search for new sources of financing and investment for the port, as well as create more jobs.

Members of the committee include Roderick Ocloo, Acting General Manager of Audit at GPHA as the Chairman, Erasmus Mensah, Finance Manager, GPHA, Ignatius Afrifa, Shipping Director at Scanship, Kweku Okyere-Darko, Technical Committee, GIFF.

The remaining members include Nick Danso-Adjei, CEO of Nick CT Scan, Stephen Acheampong, CEO of Advanced Stevedoring, Sampson Awingobit Asaki, Executive Secretary of Importers and Exporters Association, Enoch Adu-Arthur, CEO of TBT and Samuel Ntow Kumi, Acting General Manager, Business Department of GPHA.

On the current partnership with Meridian Ports Services (MPS) and its partners, Bollore Transport & Logistics, and the APM Terminals, GPHA has only about 40 percent of the revenue generation with the remaining largest percentage going to the international partners for a period of 35 years.

Roderick Ocloo said the stakeholders would ensure that the Port Infrastructure Development Fund meets its objectives.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema