The Meridian Ports Services (MPS) has invested over $50 million into Ghana’s maritime sector by acquiring additional gantry cranes for phase two of the Tema port expansion project at Terminal 3. The equipment, procured from China’s ZPMC, a Chinese state-owned multinational engineering company, includes three ship-to-shore (STS) and 12 rubber-tyre gantry (RTGs) cranes. Mr Frank Ebow Brown, the Head of Legal and Compliance at MPS, said the investment was a testament to MPS’ commitment to fostering international trade through the port, which would translate into Ghana’s economic growth. Apart from the equipment, management was also strategising to ensure that the volumes continued to go into the port without challenges. ‘You have been asking about West African Trade; we want to position Tema Port as a hub, and so we need to work with the shipping lines and attract trade, both gateway cargo, transit cargo, and trans-shipment cargo. So, the work has just begun,’ he said. Captain Francis Micah, the Harbour Master, Tema Port, said the investments were geared towards improving the port’s capacity in tandem with growing demands. The Tema Port was, therefore, continually moving upwards as management put in measures to ensure it functioned in a way that could handle all types of cargo and vessels, irrespective of their sizes, he said. The high-tech STS cranes, classified as Super-Post Panamax, the Ghana News Agency learns, have the capability to service the world’s largest vessels, as they have an outreach of 66 metres and the ability to handle containers up to the 23rd row of vessels. The cranes also offer the unique ability to stack containers over 10 units high on deck, equipped with twin-lift spreaders capable of handling loads of up to 65 tonnes. With this, it is expected that the investment would solidify Tema Port’s status as the premier commercial container hub in West Africa while positioning it to support increasing continental trade.
Source: Ghana News Agency
