LMI Holdings to establish inland port at Mpakadan
A private Ghanaian company, LMI Holdings, has started the process to construct a container port at Mpakadan in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region.
The company will also construct another port at Debre in the Savannah Region which will also come with a logistics and industrial park.
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The project, estimated to cost $200-million and known as “Trans-Volta Logistics Project (TVLP),” is expected to facilitate transportation of containerised cargo and fuel from the Tema Port through Mpakadan to the northern part of the country and to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.
According to the managers of the project, works would begin in the next nine months and would be completed by 2023.
As part of meeting the project conditions, the management of LMI and its consultants held a community engagement durbar with the chiefs and people in the Akwamu Traditional Area last Tuesday to discuss the modalities for implementing the project.
The Paramount Chief of the Akwamu Traditional Area, Nana Odenehu Kwafo Akoto IV, and officials from the Asuogyaman District Assembly took part in the discussions.
Purpose of the project
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LMI Holdings, Mr Kojo Botsio Aduhene, said the project was expected to provide a competitive transport system that linked the Tema Port to the northern parts of the country and beyond, using the Volta Lake.
He said the project involved construction of marine assets including port infrastructure, bulk fuel infrastructure and access infrastructure, which would altogether cost $200 million.
Permits acquisition
Mr Aduhene said also that as part of the project, the company was holding public engagements in line with environmental impact assessment guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Volta River Authority (VRA) regarding a concession agreement.
He said the project would serve as a catalyst for industrialisation of the North-Sahel regions of the country, drive cross-border trade and regional integration, reduce the cost of annual road repairs by the government and decrease traffic congestion and air pollution in urban centres.
In addition, he said the project would also position the Tema Port as the leading transit hub in West Africa and entrance revenue mobilisation for both Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Mr Aduhene assured the people in the Asuogyaman District that the project would create direct and indirect employment opportunities for tens of thousands of people in the communities around the project sites, provide suppliers and manufacturers with inputs; and individuals from across the country with specialised skills.
Laid down procedure
The Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Transport, Mr Paul Asare Ansah, said the government was ready to assist LMI Holdings to implement the project.
Mr Ansah, who is a former Director-General of the GPHA, said the project would add to the government’s job creation mission.
The Asuogyaman District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samuel Kwame Agyekum, said with the railway line that was being constructed from Tema to Mpakadan and the LMI port facilities also located at Mpakadan, the local economy of the area was expected to grow the economy.
He said the district assembly was ready to support the company in its job creation and revenue generation efforts.
Opportunities
For his part, Nana Kwafo Akoto IV said the project would bring relief to the youth who normally travelled far from home looking for non-existent jobs.
He assured the company that Akwamu was peaceful and safe from litigation and also that the traditional authorities put in a helping hand whenever necessary for the project to succeed.