Shipping Company Withdraws Protest

The management of Hull Blyth Limited, one of the shipping companies which protested against the award of the contract for the container terminal project at Tema, now says it is satisfied with the procedures followed by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) in appointing the consortium to manage the project.

In a letter to the Public Procurement Board dated June 6, Capt. Duncan H. MacNicol, the managing director, said that after attending a meeting of interested parties organised by GPHA in which the mechanics and participants of the consortium were clearly explained, his company had no further questions or queries regarding the matter.

The MD's letter commended the GPHA and the Ministry of Ports Harbours and Railways “for taking positive steps to make Ghana a true and working gateway to Africa.” It is recalled that the paper published a story last week about GPHA uncovering a plot by some foreign shipping companies operating in the country to sabotage the consortium set up by the Government to manage the container terminal project at the Tema port.

The companies, which included Hull Blyth Limited, Grimaldi Lines and Mechlerranean Shipping Company, all Italian companies, also wrote to the Public Procurement Board requesting it to investigate the consortium.

They were alleged to have claimed that the consortium was established in disregard of a transparent competitive bidding process mandated by the Public Procurement Act 2003, Act 663 and the policy framework for the implementation of public/private partnership published by the Ministry of Private Sector Development, and called on the World Bank and the Ghana Investment Promotion Council to investigate the appointment of the consortium.