GPHA TO INVEST $50M ON OIL FIND (PAGE 25, JULY 13)

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority will by September, this year start a $50 million project at the Takoradi Port to facilitate the prospecting of oil in the Western Region.
The proposed construction of the facility is projected to cover a period of one and a half years.
This was disclosed by the Director-General of the GPHA, Mr Nestor Galley, at a forum with the media at Tema last Wednesday.
He said it was the intention of the authority to place priority on the oil prospects and, therefore, it would not relent on its efforts to provide the needed infrastructure to ensure that the country did not rely on any neighbouring country for support.
Mr Galley said land for the project was available and that the project comprised the building of jumpers, pipes to pump the oil and hoses which will make the port well-equipped for the drilling of the oil.
He noted that the construction would increase the number of supply points to enable the GPHA provide maximum supporting services.
Mr Galley enumerated some challenges facing the authority which included the loss of rendering services to importers from Lome in Togo.
He explained that in recent times about one million cargo imports which hitherto passed through the Tema Port had been diverted through the Lome Port though facilities and structures at Ghanaian ports were better than those in Lome.
Mr Galley added that officials from the Tema Port had been charged to investigate causes of the diversion to enable the authority make amends and bring back its clients.
He said GPHA was talking to investors to further develop the port and that had resulted in the repair of four axle bridges at the Tema Port. That, he said, would quicken the pace of weighing transit trucks, check overloading and ease congestion on the port premises.
Mr Galley was not happy about the insistence of transit truck drivers that they be allowed to overload their trucks, noting that it was affecting the country’s road network.
He stated that the decision to implement the axle load policy was a general agreement between all ECOWAS countries which had benefited from the European Union (EU) funds.
Mr Galley pointed out that instead of the 25 years duration, the country’s road network lasted only five years, which made it inconsistent with the agreement.
He said the drivers were not to carry loads beyond 30 tons but they were loading beyond 75 tons, which affected the roads.
Mr Galley indicated that the stakeholders in the road sector were involved in education to make the drivers understand the need for the policy and commended the media for their role of keeping them on their toes.
He also appealed to the media to always contact the authority for information to help maintain the good image of the country and make it attractive for transacting business.