Takoradi Harbour

History

The idea for the construction of the port was first advocated in 1895 by consulting engineers of the British government. The engineers proposed that the harbour when constructed could serve both as a terminal port for the Tarkwa railway project and a naval port to serve the British empire in war times. Following surveys and planning, the construction of the port begun in 1921 by then governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Gordon Guggisberg and was completed in 1928.

Trade

The Takoradi harbour is 230 km from Accra, the capital of Ghana. The port receives and exports high volumes of cargo. The management of the harbour is the responsibility of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority. The harbour serves as the main export port for Ghana. It handles 65% of total export with about 600 vessels visiting it. The main exports from the harbour are:

• Cocoa
• Timber
• Bauxite
• Manganese

The harbour also serves the international trade purposes of land locked countries in the Sahel region of Africa. Some of the countries are Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The harbour transits large volumes of cargo for these countries.

The harbour handles 37% Ghana's seabourn traffic and 62% of national exports. It receives 20% all the imports that the country receives.

Major works

In July of 2004, it was announced that a $250 million modernization project which was to upgrade the harbour was to begin. The project included the dredging of wharf and construction of container berths to increase the volume of cargo the harbour could handle. The Authority also constructed a 14 m high wall around the port. The wall was to improve security and prevent the incidence of stowaways. Other works that were to be included in the project were:

• dredging
• paving works in the harbour
• the construction of quay walls of 500 metres
• construction of cocoa shed outside the harbour premises
• construction of an oil berth of depth 650 metres

In September 2013 a harbour expansion project commenced. The project was undertaken by Jan De Nul of Belgium.

References

References

1. "UNLOCODE (GH) - GHANA".
2. "TAKORADI HARBOUR - TAKORADI HARBOUR". www.amanful.com.
3. "Royal Commonwealth Society : Miscellaneous glass plates".
4. "Sir Gordon Guggisburg-Architect Of Development Of The Gold Coast". www.ghana.gov.gh.
5. "Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority". www.ghanaports.gov.gh.
6. "Takoradi Port Information". www.otal.com.
7. "Takoradi Port". www.ghanaports.gov.gh.
8. (29 July 2009). "Ghana to rehabilitate Takoradi Harbour at $700m for oil services". www.ghanabusinessnews.com.
9. "Takoradi harbour extension works begin this month". www.myjoyonline.com.