GRi Business, Economics & Finance 07 – 09 - 2002
Container Terminal for
Tema
Trading activities makes turnaround
Container Terminal for Tema
Tema (Greater Accra) 07 September 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor, on
Friday unveiled a plaque to commission a 10 million-dollar Tema Container
Terminal (TCT) sited at the eastern gate at the Tema port.
The Terminal, which covers 55,000 square metres, has been built to international standards and would facilitate the movement of transit cargo to land-locked countries in the Sub-Region. It has an annual throughput capacity of 40,000 containers with storage for up to about 1,600 stocked and 3,000 empty TEU (Twenty Equivalent Units).
President Kufuor said; "this project is a good example
of the role that the private sector can play in the development of our country.
It is a great boost to the gateway project that aims at making Ghanaian
seaports the shipping gateway of West Africa.
"For the gateway project to become a reality, our ports
should become competitive in both infrastructure and service delivery so that
they will be attractive destinations to both ship owners and shippers, who in
accord with the dictate of the current competitive trends in the global market
which they service, insists on these development as basic, President Kufuor
said.
He said this was why improvements in ports infrastructure
were currently underway in both Tema and Takoradi to meet the demands of
vessels, which keep on changing in size and mode of operation.
President Kufuor said Ship owners now preferred to use large
vessels on their major routes with few stops at convenient hubs where cargoes
destined for many markets were discharged for transhipment by smaller vessels
or road and rail transport to their final destinations.
President Kufuor said it was a welcome relief to government
to have a facility such as TCT wholly financed by the private sector, adding
that it had certainly justified the opening up of the ports to private sector
participation and could be cited as public/private sector co-operation in
infrastructure development.
President Kufuor expressed the hope that this would
encourage other like-minded investors to develop similar facilities to enable
Ghana to benefit from the transhipment trade in the Sub-Region, especially to
the land-locked neighbours of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and increase trade
and commerce and contribute immensely to the realisation of ECOWAS and regional
integration.
He called on the workers at the terminal to adopt good
working ethics, eschew lateness, laziness; saying, "if files still
disappear or Customs officials still make illegal demands for money, these
expensive and modern equipment will be in vain".
Mr M. Bernard Martineau, Director of the Bollore Group,
which is affiliated to various Ghanaian companies and TCC, said the group had
close to two million square metres of terminals, warehousing and office space
worldwide and 600 agencies in 110 countries.
He said their sound financial standing was attested to by
the group's annual turnover in excess of four billion dollars, adding as a
result of their good performance over the years, the group had a track record
and a long history of financial security.
He said the group had in line with the government's gateway
policy and in the true spirit of Golden Age of Business had made significant
capital commitment. Mr Martineau said with the completion of the project
congestion at the Tema port would be eased to facilitate an efficient
transhipment platform for cargo destined to other West African states.
Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport said the
ministry and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) were currently
evaluating consultants' proposal that would enable the capacities of the two
seaports to be increased in anticipation of increased traffic.
A sod-cutting ceremony, he said, would soon take place for
the development of an inland port at Boankra in the Ashanti Region to
facilitate the movement of goods to and from the hinterland of the country.
He stated that the Ghana Maritime Authority Bill, recently
passed by Parliament would enable the establishment of a proper regulatory body
for the country's maritime industry. It is envisaged that the mode of
registering ships would be liberalised to attract foreign ship owners to
register their vessels in Ghana.
In a welcoming address, Alhaji Asoma Banda, Executive
Chairman of the TCT, said the company aimed at developing a facility that would
provide consumers with widened commercial and operational choice.
A terminal to act as a shining example of efficiency and
good business practice for the realisation of the potential of unfettered private
enterprise and innovation. He said the company was contributing to the growth
of this sector of the economy to bring home the benefits of private capital,
expertise and the transfer of new skills and technology.
Present at the function were Nii Adjei Kraku II, Tema
Mantse, Mr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry and Mr Samuel
Evans Ashong Narh, Tema Municipal Chief Executive.
GRi…/
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Trading activities makes turnaround
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 September 2002- Trading activities on the stock market
made a turnaround on Friday as the Ghana Stock Exchange's (GSE) indicators
registered significant gains. The All-Share Index, the main market indicator
increased by 1.56 points to close the week up at 1,312.39 points from 1,310.83
points.
This pushed the change in the year to date from 37.12 per
cent to 37.29 per cent. Shares traded soared to 1,461,700 from a paltry 2,600
recorded on Wednesday. Market capitalisation moved up to 4,863.97 billion cedis
from 4,860.94 billion cedis.
In the broader market, there were six gainers. The
British-American Tobacco Company (BAT) gained the highest of 10 cedis at 950
cedis followed by Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) with eight cedis at 3,321
cedis.
Mobil Oil Ghana Limited (MOGL) finished the week richer by
five cedis at 19,705 cedis while Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) gained four cedis
to close at 380 cedis. Unilever Ghana Limited (UNIL) and the SSB Bank (SSB)
gained three cedis and two cedis to close the week's trading at 4,205 cedis and
3,862 cedis respectively.
The following are the last prices of listed equities in
cedis:
ABL 380 +4
AGC 18,801
ALW 4,000
BAT 950 +10
CFAO 66
EIC 4,500
FML 1,627
GBL 900
GCB 3,321 +8
GGL 912
HFC 955
MGL 254
MLC 261
MOGL 19,705 +5
PAF 750
PBC 440
PZ 1,850
SCB 26,005
SPPC 387
SSB 3,862 +2
SWL 285
UNIL 4,206 +3
CMLT 460
GRi…/
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