A public-private partnership between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Meridian Ports Services (MPS), involves an upgrade and significant expansion of Ghana’s main seaport.

MPS is a partnership between GPHA and the Meridian Port Holdings (MPH), which is in turn a joint venture between APM Terminals of the Netherlands and Bolloré Transport & Logistics of France.

The launch of marine engineering works marks the start of the project, the contract for which was signed between GPHA and MPS in June 2015.

The successful completion of this initiative is set to fundamentally change Ghana’s position in West Africa’s maritime industry by effecting an increase in trade flow and improvement in transportation links across West Africa.

The expanded port will have a 1.4 km quay with four deep berths, equipped with sophisticated container handling gantry cranes and terminal operating systems. Its capacity to accommodate cargo ships will consequently be four times greater than its current capacity. Tema Port will then be able to handle some of the world’s biggest container ships, carrying up to 18,000 containers.

In his inaugural speech, President John Dramani Mahama said the government’s decision had been to position the ports of Ghana as a trade and investment gateway to the West African sub-region.

“The overall economic impact of this project will translate into 400, 000 jobs along the logistics chain,” he said. “The investment being made would change the dynamics of the country’s maritime industry over the next 100 years.”

The first phase of this project will involve the construction of a breakwater, dredging the entrance channel to accommodate larger ships, building a quay wall and reclaiming the terminal area behind the quay wall.

The Tema Port expansion is in response to increasing trade volumes of export goods and imports into the country as well as the growth in global economic activity. The project is also earmarked to bring the benefit of 5,000 more direct jobs, substantial capacity building, new equipment and the requisite technology transfer to the people of Ghana.

“Over the years, Ghana has become the center of attraction for many investors even in the wake of the current global economic meltdown,” said Philippe Labonne, President of Bolloré Transport & Logistics. “We believe Ghana is a viable and promising place to do business and this is evident in the amount of the foreign direct investment that the country’s economy has been injected with.”

The newly expanded Tema Port is projected to be fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2019.