August 14 - The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has offered a 25-year concession to Ghanaian company Ibistek for the development and operations of a container and multipurpose terminal at the Port of Takoradi.

This is part of GPHA's master plan and development efforts to equip the Port of Takoradi for future demands.

The concession-related project works and installations will be executed at a cost of USD370 million and GPHA says that in the long term, terminals could have the capacity of handling one million teu.

According to Ibistek, funding for the facility is expected to come from various lending agencies to be led by the African Development Bank (AfDB). There are also intentions to approach the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) to participate in the financing.

GPHA noted that the project is intended to make the Port of Takoradi more competitive with other ports in the sub region and to play a pivotal role in Ghana's economic development process.

GPHA has already contracted major loans to prepare the basic port infrastructure for such development prospects.

www.ghanaports.gov.gh