By Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA
Ho, Nov 09, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has given the clearest signal yet that the long-awaited Keta Port is moving from paper to action.
Making the announcement at the 64th Hogbetsotso Grand Durbar at Anloga on Saturday, he said seven companies had been shortlisted to take the project to its next stage.
Responding directly to Togbi Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo, who had demanded clear, transparent timelines for the port, the President said government remained committed to advancing the project and that the people would soon see physical progress.
On the Keta Port, the people wish to see progress and the associated economic opportunities.
The Awoamefia, in his address delivered by Mr Godsway Hanyabui, the Anlo Youth Council President, reminded the President that the project had lived on paper for far too long.
The Awoamefia saw the port as gateway to jobs, trade, tourism and industrial growth for the entire Volta Region and beyond and to the broader development of Anlo – alongside the relocation of the Eastern Naval Base to Keta to secure Ghana’s waters, the University of the Blue Economy and Coastal Ecosystems, and the Keta Lagoon Basin Development Authority.
He said: “The administration block (Keta Port) is almost complete now. This project has lived on paper for far too long, the people of Anlo wish to see action in the physical construction of the port.”
President Mahama confirmed that progress and gave a timeline for the first visible milestone, announcing that the administration block, started under the previous administration, would be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year to pave the way for the main port works to follow.
On the main port itself, President Mahama said a number of companies submitted expressions of interest in partnering with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and strategic partners for the port development, with the list now been shortlisted to seven companies, currently proceeding to the next stage – the completion of the design of the project.
He said the design stage was critical because it would determine the layout, capacity, and engineering specifications of the port before physical construction could begin.
President Mahama also tied the port to the wider infrastructure drive in the area.
He announced that most segments of the Eastern Corridor Road would be completed by the end of next year, and that procurement was ongoing for the reconstruction of the road from Central University at Miotso to Aflao, and for the dualisation of the Tema to Aflao Road – roads that would feed traffic and trade into the future port.
He also added that work was progressing steadily on the Ho-Denu Road and the Kome and Shime Roads under the Big Push Agenda.
The plan for a port at Keta which had been on the drawing board for long and dear to the chiefs and people of the area, received attention from the Akufo-Addo Government who initiated processes including signing an executive instrument that demarcated the area for the port, and advertising for tenders for feasibility studies for the project to see to its fruition.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA
Email address: [email protected]