PORT AUTHORITIES CREATE SPACE FOR OIL EQUIPMENT (BACK PAGE, NOV 10)

GHANA Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), has reserved 100 metres of the Tema port berthing area for companies preparing for commercial oil production to facilitate the clearing of their equipment.
The GPHA has also allocated certain places at the Takoradi port for the storage of machinery and materials of those oil companies to enhance their operations.
The Director General of the GPHA, Mr Nestor Percy Galley, who made this known at a durbar of staff of the GPHA in Tema, said the measures were part of the policy initiatives being implemented by the authority to ease cargo and vehice congestion at the Tema Port.
He said the GPHA would undertake a series of development projects in 2010 to enhance the operations of the ports.
The projects include the construction of a six-lane road from the Tema Motorway Roundabout to the port, a two-lane dual carriageway from the Nungua barrier to the port and a Transit Truck Village at Kpone, near Tema.
Mr Galley said the GPHA, in its quest to complement government’s goal of providing adequate and appropriate facilities to support Ghana’s emerging oil industry, was collaborating with Tullow Oil Company to work on the installation of oil service facilities at the Takoradi Port.
He, therefore, called for support from stakeholders in the maritime industry to come on board and support the GPHA and Government to achieve its vision of making the Ghana’s ports the preferred destination in the sub-region.
He encouraged workers to eschew indiscipline and misconduct, saying the management would institute a reward scheme to motivate them to work hard.
The Director of the Tema Port, Mr Richard Anamoo, charged the workers to work hard to achieve increased productivity.
He said the authority, in its quest for ensuring that employees played functional roles in turning its fortunes around, would soon begin training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for all the staff and, therefore, encouraged employees to take advantage of the training.
The Secretary of the local union, Mr Emile Asiedu, appealed to the management to have another look at the concession agreement among GPHA and Meridian Ports Services (MPS) and Safebond Company Ltd (SCL), since the agreements were not bringing in the desired royalty, considering the heavy capital investment made by the GPHA in developing that part of the port.