Sekondi-Takoradi port is situated
on the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) in southern Ghana. Both the
Dutch and British built forts at Sekondi in the 17th century that were
destroyed by the Ahanta. Fort Orange, rebuilt by the Dutch and bought
by the British in 1872, still survives as a lighthouse. Sekondi flourished
in the 1900s after construction of the railroad (1903) to the mineral
and timber resources of the hinterland & the interior goldfields.
A deepwater harbour was constructed at Takoradi in 1928.
Takoradi is Ghana's main export port with around 500
vessel calls per year handling 65% of Ghana's exports. Main commodities
are
manganese,
bauxite, timber and cocoa. Takoradi handles over 2.2 million tons of
cargo per year.
Sekondi and Takoradi, a single municipality since 1946, became one
city in 1963. Takoradi is well-planned, with two breakwaters enclosing
220 acres (90 hectares) of sea with quay berths (5 multi-purpose and
3 dedicated berths) and lee facilities for loading bauxite and discharging
oil. The harbour is the terminus of several Ghana railways and is served
by road and air. Sekondi-Takoradi also has light industrial, agricultural,
and fishing enterprises.
Sekondi-Takoradi also has shipbuilding, railroad repair, and cigarette
industries. The two parts of the city developed around Dutch and English
forts built in the 17th century.
Draft at Berth
Between 7.93m and 9.14m
Draft at Harbour
Mouth
11m
Entrance Channel
185m wide and 11.3m deep
No of Deepwater Quays
9
Length of Quay
1369.5 m in total
RoRo Quay - 167.64m with a depth of 7.93m
Container Quay - 152.4m with a depth of 8.92m
Air Connections
Kotoka International is 228km from Takoradi
Takoradi port is gearing up for futher upgrades and increased private
sector participation. The Port Authority has secured land close to
the harbour to be leased to private investors for the development of
fish processing and cold storage facilities. There are also plans to
extend the clinker-bauxite jetty and the main breakwater. The old log
pond will be reclaimed for use as a container handling area and there
are also plans for the construction of new offices and a marine operation
berth.
The implementation of the ISPS code came into effect
on the 1st July 2004, a global maritime security standard introduced
by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for member nations.
Below are the details of the Takoradi ports plans for 2004:
New identity card will be issued to port
workers from September this year.
A
perimeter fence is being built around
the port.
The Takoradi Port will soon engage a security
company to provide sniffer dogs to ensure maximum security
A Port
Facility Security Committee (PFSC) had been established
An electronic Surveillance System is also being installed.
OTAL own a container terminal on the Axim Road in Takoradi
for the consolidation of timber and loading of containers. Here we
operate a range of forklift trucks, a 10 tonne mobile crane and a fleet
of trailers. We have also have a 28 tonne forklift truck specifically
for handling export containers and have increased our accommodation
and staffing in Takoradi.
In addition, we continue to operate the largest and most
modern haulage fleet in Ghana. No other operator in Ghana has the combination
of a
dedicated timber container terminal together with as large an equipment
fleet as we do.
Amsterdam Port Consultants to Invest Over $60m in Takoradi Port
The Amsterdam Port Consultants, a consortium of port companies in Amsterdam,
are ready to invest over $60 million into the rehabilitation of the
Takoradi Port through a process called Build Operate Transfer if the
Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) approved their bid to rehabilitate
The Managing Director of Amsterdam Port Consultants, Mr. Venda K. Sykora,
said when the deal is clinched $60 million would be invested in the
first phase of the project, which would include the rehabilitation
of the existing quays as well as the manganese and bauxite facilities
at the port.
Mr. Venda K. Sykora, one of the leaders of a delegation from Amsterdam
Seaport and other private business groups, said this when they arrived
in Accra on Sunday night to explore investment opportunities.
He noted that the port required major overhauling, but that would largely
depend on its economic viability. He said the port would be viable
with the concessioning of the western rail line to a South African
company for rehabilitation. "We are ready to do a win-win business
but we need to adopt a modest approach to assess the rate of profitability
and eventually consider expansion capabilities."
He told the Business Chronicle that their proposal was given to the
Government of Ghana after they had expressed interest in the rehabilitation
of the Takoradi port in a tender in March 2003.
Mr. Sykora said the consortium gave a presentation of their plans in
January 2004. "It was adopted and came back in September last
year for another presentation."
He announced that the government was still studying their proposal.
The consultants would construct container terminals, rehabilitate berths,
bulk terminals, bauxite and manganese quays.
The agreement, when approved, would lease the facilities to the consortium
for 25 years which would either transfer the facilities back to the
GPHA or extend the lease. Rent and royalties would however be paid
to the GPHA or government.
He disputed the Japanese master plan that would spend $250 million
to overhaul the port including the extension of the breakwaters.
He explained that their plan would work towards the master plan in
phases but would start with the first $60 million. Mr. Sykora noted
that they were optimistic that their plan would win the bid.
The 20-member delegation, consisting of 11 private companies, would
meet Ghanaian business partners during their five-day visit to discuss
lucrative areas of investment, especially in the storage, transporting
and loading of cocoa beans.
Speaking to newsmen, Mr. Wim Ruijgh, the spokesman, said the group
had consistently visited the country during the past four years to
strengthen trade relations, adding that commerce between Ghana and
the Netherlands required the appropriate impetus.
Mr. Ruijgh said Ghana's political stability and its readiness to attract
investment had resulted in other business groups expressing interest
in exploring the country's investment potentials.
He said as part of their tour, the group would visit the Kumasi, Takoradi
and Tema Ports to have first hand information on their operations.
One of the visiting companies has already submitted a project proposal
to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for a deal towards the rehabilitation
of the cargo terminals at the Takoradi Harbour.
In the Ashanti Region, they would also visit the Boankra Inland Port
to see where they can invest.
Ghana
- $250 Million to Modernise Takoradi Harbour- 30/07/04
Mr Nestor Galley, the Director of the Takoradi Port, announced 29/07/04 a 250-million-
dollar modernisation programme for Takoradi Harbour to upgrade its facilities.
The programme includes the dredging of the wharf and container berths to improve
cargo handling at a cost of $70 million. He said the government was sourcing
for external funding to make the port the preferred port of call by shippers
in West Africa.
Mr Galley said this when the President of the Port Management
Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), Mr Jerome Dandjinou,
led an eight-member delegation for a day's working visit to the harbour.
The visit was the first of a programme by the PMAWCA to tour port facilities
of member countries. Twenty countries in West and Central Africa form
PMAWCA, which has its headquarters in Nigeria. http://www.pmawca-agpaoc.org/home.asp
Mr Galley also said his management has begun to construct
a 14-metre high wall around the port to improve security and to check
incidents of stowaways.
