The Acting Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Brigadier General Paul Seidu Tanye-Kulono, has assured businesses that the cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports will be reduced by the end of 2025.
He explained that the Authority was reviewing taxes on transit goods to make the country’s ports more competitive in the sub-region.
Brigadier General Tanye-Kulono gave the assurance when he welcomed a delegation from the Ministry of Transport, led by Deputy Minister Mrs. Dorcas Affo-Toffey, during a familiarisation tour of the Tema Port, Tema Shipyard, and the Regional Maritime University.
According to him, GPHA was engaging stakeholders to address long-standing challenges such as demurrage, which currently benefits shipping lines at the expense of clients.
“We have resolved to position our seaports as effective tools in the development agenda of the country,” he said.
The GPHA boss also revealed that the Authority had rolled out the 24-hour economy initiative at the ports but stressed that reliable lighting and other logistics were needed to make the system fully efficient.
Supporting the vision, Dr. Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako, GPHA’s General Manager for Marketing and Corporate Affairs, highlighted ongoing modernisation projects, including upgrades to container and transit terminals as well as the Tema Fishing Harbour.
He said new cargo-handling equipment had been acquired and a linkage road between Terminals Two and Three was under construction, alongside the rehabilitation of the Tema-Mankoadze road and other community routes.
Deputy Minister Affo-Toffey praised GPHA’s efforts, urging management to sustain the momentum and make Ghana’s ports the most efficient in the sub-region. She reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthen policy frameworks to improve the sector, describing the ports as the gateway to international trade and a key driver of economic growth.
At the Tema Shipyard, the Deputy Minister disclosed that the government is developing a public-private partnership policy to transform the facility into a viable and modern entity. She noted that since its inauguration in the 1970s, the shipyard had not undergone any major facelift, resulting in decayed infrastructure.
Yet, she stressed, the facility holds significant potential to create jobs and drive industrial growth.
Mr. Osman Sulemana, Chief Executive Officer of Tema Shipyard, said the capital-intensive industry required heavy investment to thrive.
He revealed that the shipyard had expanded its workforce from 22 to 85 permanent staff, supported by over 450 contract workers, to boost operations.
The Deputy Minister also visited the Regional Maritime University (RMU), where she emphasised the institution’s strategic role in Ghana’s 24-hour economy and blue economy agenda.
She said RMU was well placed to build human resource capacity for the maritime industry while tapping into ocean resources to drive growth.
“Effective governance begins with listening and collaborating with those on the front lines of service delivery,” Mrs. Affo-Toffey said.
Dr. Jethro W. Brooks Jnr, Vice-Chancellor of RMU, commended the Minister’s visit and pledged to strengthen the university’s role in advancing knowledge and skills for Ghana and the wider West and Central African subregion.
