Ave Maria Appeals To GPHA For More Time

It has emerged that management of Ave Maria Resort, whose building is currently hampering work on the Tema Port expansion project, has been pleading with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) for more time, while spewing untruth about the Authority in the public domain.

Available records indicate that Ave Maria Resort pleaded with the GPHA to give them a grace period to April 30, 2018 to vacate the property for the expansion works to continue.

“We would be grateful for your consent to wrap up our operations and vacate the property by 30th April 2018,” part of a letter, which was dated January 8, 2018 and signed by one Theresa Efua Ntim for and on behalf of Ave Maria, stated.

The plea comes after a decision had been made by GPHA and Ave Maria owners to pull down the structure by January 26, 2018 and fairly determine the compensation.

The letter also states, “We hope that now that the valuation report by the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) is ready, we can now agree on a relocation package and compensation.”

Director General (DG) of GPHA, Paul Asare Ansah, denied claims by Ave Maria that a deal on compensation had been reached, saying GPHA had forwarded the AESL valuation report on the property to the Valuation Board of the Lands Commission for further advice as part of the processes to determine the final compensation package for Ave Maria.

Since GPHA is state agency, all such valuation transactions must be approved by the National Valuation Board.

According to him, the decision to pull down the hotel and restaurant had already been made by GPHA and Ave Maria based on directives from the court and the compensation agreement is not a condition precedent for demolishing the facility.

Mr Asare Ansah indicated that Ave Maria had officially written to the Port Authority not to demolish the facility by end of January – a request, he said, might not be granted due to difficulties and risks involved.

“We understand the emotional outburst of the owners. She is passionate about protecting her interest but the national interest supersedes all others,” Mr Ansah said.

He commented, “She has to understand that the facility is occupying the site for the railway terminal which forms a critical component of the new container terminal.

The engineers, contractors and consultants have disclosed that leaving Ave Maria at its current location will cost Ghana more than 10 times the current value of the facility, which therefore leaves the Port Authority with no choice than to pull down the facility.

According to the engineers, if the authorities fail to demolish Ave Maria, the newly Expanded Tema Port Terminals will not have an exit gate and the expected exit container scanners because those are the exact locations of those facilities.

They also revealed that there are no planned drainage systems to link Ave Maria to the new terminal, a situation that will cause Ave Maria to be constantly flooded.

They revealed that there would be regular movement of equipment in such a highly operational environment that cannot allow revellers to come to the hotel and restaurant for leisure.

Also the port's new container terminal may not be certified to operate with a restaurant.

Above all, the engineers also disclosed that Ave Maria's current location has led to delayed damages from the project contractors to the tune of a minimum of $80,000 weekly.