Ghana has started work on the construction of an inland marine port and an accompanying industrial park as part of the Trans-Volta Logistics Corridor.
The country’s first inland marine port will be located in the northern part of the country, with the industrial park situated at Debre in the Savannah region. The multimodal transport corridor project, undertaken by LMI Holdings, aims to develop a system to transport containers and bulk cargo from the port of Tema to Burkina Faso and other landlocked countries via the Volta Lake. The entire project is expected to be fully operational by 2025.
Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony on July 22, Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said: “Easing the congestion of clearing goods from Tema will be one of the main objectives for this port and industrial park. Using the Volta Lake, vessels will transport goods and containers in transit to and from the Tema port. These containers will be moved by rail to Akwamu-Korankye (eastern region) and then loaded onto barges to the Debre Inland Port. In Debre, operating at its fullest capacity like Tema with all the attendant facilities, containers will be offloaded and put on trucks to continue their journey further into the sub region. All services such as Customs, transits clearances will be provided as pertains to any international port.”
The USD200 million inland marine port and USD250 million industrial park will addres various issues that continue to plague the movement of goods in Ghana and to the neighbouring countries, he added. “Most of the over 30,000 trucks, annually, moving goods to landlocked countries of the northern boundary of Ghana will be taken off the roads.”
Bawumia continued: “Debre’s geographic positioning makes it significant for the inland port and the industrial park to be sited. The deep depth of the Volta Lake year-round offers all-seasons availability for barges for transportation to and from Debre. With the creation of auxiliary roads, linking Debre to other towns, it will become a hub that will attract other stakeholders in the ecosystem to set up other complementary facilities and businesses.”
