The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, (GPHA) made giant strides in its operations in 2017, particularly in the areas of vessels and Cargo handling, prompting the authority to improve significantly on the 2016 performance.
The Director General of GPHA, Paul Ansah Asare, speaking at the end -of -year get- together with the press in Tema over the weekend, said the authority handled more and bigger vessels in 2017 compared to 2016, translating into more tonnages reflecting in revenue accruing for the state.
Mr. Asare noted that GPHA handled 1,850 vessels last year as against 1,830 in 2016, though it was not able to hit the target of 1,900.
The authority, he continued exceeded its target of 20 million tonnages by handling 21 million tonnes of Cargo last year, compared to 19 million tonnes done in the year 2016. These translate into realizing 1.1 billion Ghana Cedis in 2017 compared to 1 billion in 2016.
The GPHA boss added that the Authority made a profit of 140 million Ghana Cedis after honouring its tax obligation, as against 56 million Ghana Cedis realized in 2016. He therefore reaffirmed the GPHA’s commitment to continuing and executing all projects at both ports especially expansion works to position the Sea ports potential enough to handle any increased volume and pressure in the next 50 years.
Mr. Asare further stated that GPHA in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority will take advantage of Tema, being at the center of the earth, to raise tourism to an unprecedented level by constructing a cruise and passenger terminal at the Tema Port.
He emphasized that the Takoradi Port will continue to support the Oil &Gas, commercial and the Integrated Bauxite Industry, saying a container multipurpose terminal is already being constructed to that effect.
The GPHA DG however attributed the successes achieved in the just ended year partly to the massive support of the Tema media who he referred to as the mirror through whom the corporate personality of the government organization reflects to the world.
He therefore promised stronger ties in the years ahead, calling on the media to call their attention when they go wrong ,especially in the area of policy direction
