The Takoradi Port is set to enhance its container handling capabilities next year, aiming to boost trade and strengthen its position as a major maritime hub in the West African sub-region.
The Port, over the years, can handle only five (5) percent of the domestic traffic which has even reduced to about three (3) percent.
However, the situation is expected to change next year due to the collaborations the Port is having with its partners to ensure that the new container terminal is operationalized by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Mr Peter Amo Bediako, the Director of Port at the Takoradi Port who made the remarks at a press soiree in Takoradi said the Port signed a joint venture agreement with a private investor, Ibistek Crowley, for the construction of an off-dock container terminal with a capacity of 7,500TU to improve the handling of containers at the Port.
The terminal, located at the Old Prime Wood Site in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, would create sufficient space within the precincts of the port for other activities that would increase the Port’s capacity, improve the turnaround time and enhance the overall customer experience, reducing the cost of doing business at the facility.
It would also create employment for the youth in the metropolis, accommodate larger vessels, and become the preferred destination for shipping companies in the West African sub-region.
Mr Bediako hinted that measures have also been put into place to beef up security in all the operations of the Port, especially due to the large vessels that would be coming in and the large traffic the Port is expected to record.
Giving the performance report of the Port, he said vessel calls as of November 2023 stood at 801 out of the yearly target of 856.
Port traffic was 7.1 million metric tonnes as against 6.7 million metric tonnes in 2022, representing about a 5% increase with an expectation to record 7.7 million metric tonnes by the end of December 2023.
Manganese export traffic recorded a little over 2.9 million metric tonnes as against 2.8 million metric tonnes recorded last year while Bauxite export traffic recorded 1.08 million metric tonnes as against 473,000 metric tonnes in 2022, showing an increase of 129%.
In terms of container handling, the Port could not be able to attract more containers in its traffic. Out of the yearly target of 38,000, it recorded 25,808 TEUs as of November 2023 against 27,900 TEUs in 2022, representing a decrease of 7.4%.
The Director commended the media for identifying with the Port and telling the stories fairly, readily, and extensively as far as they can during the year under review.
He said the management and staff of the port would continue to cooperate and strengthen its relationship with the media for improved service delivery.