Effective August 1 this year, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) will start handling 20% of container traffic at the ports for 2 years.
This arrangement was agreed at a meeting between the GPHA and Meridian Port Services (MPS) after the local labour union of the GPHA staged a demonstration over the matter.
In 2015 a concession agreement was signed between Meridian Ports Services and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority -GPHA which allowed MPS to exclusively handle all container traffic.
However, an appeal was made to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to intervene in the matter after which cabinet decided in 2019 that 20% of the container traffic be ceded to the GPHA.
Management of the GPHA says since 2019 several meetings have been held between them and MPS to work out the technical and financial details needed to successfully implement the agreement which the labour union say had taken longer than usual.
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Following a July 12 and 13 demonstration by the GPHA workers which halted vessel activities, the Director General of the GPHA, Michael Luguje held a crunch meeting with the ministry of transport, the board chairman of GPHA and the CEO of MPS Mohammed Samara.
After that a letter was issued and signed by the CEO of MPS that effective August 1, 2022, 20% of gateway container traffic will be ceded to GPHA for 2 years.
GPHA which manages the sea ports of Ghana handled over 1.5million tonnes of container traffic in 2021 at both Tema and Takoradi ports an increase from 1.2 million in 2020.
Plans are far advanced to expand the Tema port and operationalize the Keta port in the nearest future.
