THE Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC) has initiated moves to purchase idle oil barges, a push boat and a floating dry-dock from the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) which has been lying idle at the cost of $35million.
The procurement and operation of those machines are expected to facilitate easy transportation on the Volta Lake, generate enough revenue for the company and wean it from government subvention.
The Managing Director of the VLTC, Mr Martin Hiles, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said currently there was a tussle between the VLTC and the BOST over the figure quoted.
He added that while the former thought the cost of the machines should be less than what had been quoted, the latter was of the view that it was the right value.
As a result, he said, an independent valuation of the fleet was to be conducted to determine the actual value.
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat without engines built mainly for the purposes of river and canal transport of heavy goods, including liquid cargo.
VLTC is mandated to provide ferry services on the Volta Lake at economical costs.
Due to its low charges, the company has been in dire straits in recent times.
The company’s only means of revenue generation currently is the transportation of petroleum products for the government. Part of the revenue generated, however, is used to subsidise ferry services to the public.
The machines being sought for by the VLTC have remained unused by the BOST for the past seven years, and the management of the VLTC believes procuring them would improve general transportation along the lake and raise additional revenue for the government.
Mr Hiles said officials of the Ministry of Energy were trying to bring the VLTC and the BOST on to the same wave length on the issue of the cost of the machines.
According to Mr Hiles, a transfer of ownership of the BOST fleet would help resuscitate VLTC, which he said, was handicapped at the moment, resulting from the deteriorated nature of its fleets, resulting from long periods of lack of fuel transportation.
He discounted suggestions that the company was not capable of serving the nation’s needs, saying the VLTC had the ability to do so.
He said the BOST had consistently resorted to transporting petroleum products to the northern part of the country using road transport due to the latter’s inability to repair and operate the pipelines between Tema and Akosombo for the past three years.
That, he said, had led to a string of fuel shortages in the northern part of the country.
A Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Petroleum, Mr Kofi Armah Buah, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that officials were working to ensure that an agreement was reached between the two parties, adding that, “we believe the VLTC must have a strong financial backing to sustain its operations.”
The Managing Director of BOST, Dr Yaw Akoto, would, however, not comment on the issue, which he described as sensitive, when contacted by the Daily Graphic.
There is a general concern that a pipeline built for the transportation of fuel products from Buipe in the Northern Region to Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region under a South Korea Government sponsorship in 2005 and 2006 remained unused, leading to the use of road transport to move fuel products to the north of Ghana and Burkina Faso.
SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Thur June 28, 2012
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